The 2016 Grammy nominations were announced today, and noticeably absent from the list were songs like Beyoncé’s “7/11†and Carly Rae Jepsen’s stellar album E•MO•TION. Unnoticeably absent was “Post to Be,†the anilingus anthem from Omarion, Jhené Aiko, and Chris Brown. You know the line: “I might let your boy chauffeur me / but he gotta eat the booty like groceries.†Not since Nicki Minaj’s instructions for tossing her salad in “Anaconda†has a song so boldly and unabashedly climbed to the mountaintop, looked over, and seen the Promised Land. But does “Post to Be†deserve a Grammy nomination? Omarion seems to think so, as he took to Twitter today in the wake of the nominations to decry his snub.
Argument: “Post to Be†is one of the greatest R&B collaborations of all time.
Not only did Omarion make this claim, he also challenged people to name collaborations that were better than his. He didn’t retweet any responses, which might lead his followers to believe that there are no challengers … if his followers have never listened to music beyond Omarion’s. Even with his caveat that no rap features be included, the amount of legendary R&B collabs is staggering. Just off the top of my head, there’s “Heartbreak Hotel†(Whitney Houston, Kelly Price, and Faith Evans), “Endless Love†(Diana Ross and Lionel Richie), “The Boy Is Mine†(Brandy and Monica), “Friend of Mine†(Kelly Price, R. Kelly, and Ronald Isley), “My Boo†(Usher and Alicia Keys), “On My Own†(Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald), “Reunited†(Peaches and Herb), “Nobody†(Keith Sweat and Adena Cage), “Scream†(Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson), “One Sweet Day†(Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men) … need I go on?
Ruling: False.
Argument: It is Omarion’s destiny to win a Grammy.
Bruh.
Ruling: “Thou shalt not bear false witness.†— Exodus 20:16
Argument: The line “eat the booty like groceries†took him out of the running.
Plenty of artists have been nominated for songs with subject matter like rape (Eminem) and gang violence (Snoop Dogg), so Aiko’s line wouldn’t exactly count Omarion out. In fact, Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda†is on the album The Pinkprint, which received a Best Rap Album nomination today. Also, Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadephia†won Song of the Year in 1995, and you can’t tell me there’s not some anilingus going on in Philly.
Ruling: False.
Argument: “Post to Be†is just a damn good song, it should’ve gotten nominated.
“Post to Be†is a hell of a jam. It reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, mostly due to Jhene’s verse and Chris Brown’s vocals. Omarion has made fantastic songs before, but he’s outshined on “Post to Be.â€
Ruling: True.
Maybe it’s a shame “Post to Be†was ignored for a Grammy, despite it not being the best R&B collaboration ever made, but let’s take into account the fact that the song was not only nominated for but won a Soul Train Award this year — one that Omarion didn’t show up to collect. If you’re too good for the black awards show, then you don’t get to complain about a Grammy.