It takes a village to make a superstar, and no one knows that better than Tyler, The Creator. An eventful, detour-filled and perpetually left-of-center career in music spanning back to 2007 all came to a head in 2020, when the rapper won his very first GRAMMY award.
The latest episode of GRAMMY Rewind revisits Tyler's Best Rap Album win for his 2019 project IGOR at the 2020 GRAMMY Awards. But the true star of the show is his mother, Bonita Smith, who joined him onstage as he gave his acceptance speech.
After Smith gave her son a long, tearful hug before he could even give up to the microphone, Tyler made sure to shout her out first. "You did a great job raising this guy," Tyler said with a laugh.
The rapper — who admitted he didn't have anything prepared — spent the bulk of his time onstage offering heartfelt, specific thanks to all the people who helped foster his career. Next, he applauded his managers, who "took a seed and watered it"; then, his friends and family, "for putting up with my annoying, hyperactive energy."
In particular, Tyler wanted to mention another person who was beside him on stage: His longtime friend and collaborator Jasper. Jasper was a founding member of Tyler's mid-2000s hip hop collective, Odd Future, and he's been featured on multiple Tyler, The Creator albums over the years.
"This man has never missed a show of mine," Tyler proclaimed. "This is my day one, and I love this dude."
Though his 2020 win wouldn't be his last GRAMMY trophy — Tyler won Best Rap Album again at the 64th GRAMMY Awards in 2022, for Call Me If You Get Lost — he soaked up the spotlight as if he would never get the chance to do so again, and made sure to let his nearest and dearest know that it was their moment, too.
Watch Tyler's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.
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