MIC/LINE (formerly named Sound Check) is HYPEBEAST Radio‘s music-centric show that looks to deliver in-depth conversations with your favorite artists, digging into their origin stories and asking the questions you want answered. For our season three opener, we have Vivian Host, Timmhotep Aku, and Eric Diep as our special guests.

Vivian Host is currently the host of Peak Time on Red Bull Radio as well as a Red Bull Music Academy team member. Timmhotep Aku is the Senior Editor at Pitchfork who leads the rap content over at the publication including Levels and The Ones. Eric Diep is a hip-hop jornalist who has written for publications such as Complex, Billboard, Vibe, XXL and more.

The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony went down last Sunday, live from the Staples Center in LA, and it was a memorable night. This year’s Grammys featured stellar performances from Kacey Musgraves, Cardi B, Janelle Monaé, Diana Ross, Travis Scott, Lady Gaga, St. Vincent, Dua Lipa, Post Malone, Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others. Some of the moments that stood out were Cardi B taking home a Grammy, Diana Ross stunning performance, Musgraves winning Album Of The Year, but what was most prominent was the presence of women on the stage throughout the night, following Recording Academy president Neil Portnow and his comments after the 2018 Grammys that women needed to “step up” in order to receive recognition in the future.

“The thing about the Grammys that is unfortunate but I think it’s probably true about of all award shows that are as big on this level is, you’re always thinking something is not genuine,” says Vivian Host when discussing if the push for women being at the forefront of this year’s award ceremony was sincere.

For this episode, Vivian, Timmhotep and Eric discuss hip-hop having a big night at the award ceremony with Cardi B taking home the Best Rap Album and Childish Gambino snagging Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year. The group then grades Alicia Keys as a host, the lack of vocal support for 21 Savage, Drake’s speech, Mac Miller, the categories not televised and so much more.

Keep up with everything HYPEBEAST Radio and subscribe to MIC/LINE on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast or wherever else you enjoy your podcasts. Feel free to reach out to our host, Manny, on Twitter at @ECM_LP and follow HYPEBEAST Music for more original content and music news.