”Back on the Block” by Quincy Jones, Big Daddy Kane, Ice-T, Kool Moe Dee, & Melle Mel, was the first song to win a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
On the night of February 20, 1991, during the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards, “Back on the Block”, released on November 8, 1989, by Quincy Jones, Big Daddy Kane, Ice-T, Kool Moe Dee, & Melle Mel became the first song to win a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. This was also the first time the award was presented and Quincy Jones, Big Daddy Kane, Ice-T, Kool Moe Dee, and Melle Mel won the award despite their collab being released in 1989. The Grammy Category for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was discontinued in 2012, the latest winners were Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz with “On To The Next One” in 2011.
Purchase our 100 Hip-Hop Facts (1973-2000) Book
Read: Run-D.M.C. was the first rap group to win a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award
Read: MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” was the first song to win a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance
Read: Chance the Rapper’s album ‘Coloring Book’ was the first streaming-only album to win a Grammy
