The 2015 Grammys took a political turn Sunday evening.
Prince, resplendent in orange vinyl, took the stage to announce the Grammy for best album, and said, “like books and black lives, albums still matter.”
#BlackLivesMatter began after the death of Trayvon Martin at the hands of George Zimmerman, and became a widespread rallying cry in the aftermath of the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice. Brown and Rice were fatally shot by police officers, while Garner died after being put in a chokehold by a New York City police officer.
The hashtag spiked on Twitter on Sunday evening, according to Twitter analytics service Topsy.
The moment of the evening, however, was Prince’s face after he announced that Beck had won the Grammy for best album.
Take it away, Prince.
