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Maybe it was due to the bleakness of recent events <\/a>in America, but the L.A. party scene in the ramp-up to the Grammys felt notably restrained and purposeful this year. The rowdiest night of the week seemed to be a grunge-cover tribute to Mariah Carey\u2019s lost \u201890s album at the MusiCares gala<\/a>. But a few events did try to blend in acknowledgments of current crises with the usual industry-focused honorifics and cheerleading.<\/p>\n The Black Music Collective\u2019s Recording Academy Honors gala, held at the Fairmont Century Plaza on Thursday, found Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in the audience (we can only imagine the questions from guests who bumped into her at the bar) and Recording Academy Chief Executive Harvey Mason Jr. on the stage to laud three canonical Black acts \u2014 gospel giant Kirk Franklin, R&B chanteuse Brandy and producer Pharrell Williams, who earned the academy\u2019s Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, a lifetime achievement honor for the music, fashion and film mogul.<\/p>\n The night had scores of lively sets, from album of the year nominees Clipse<\/a> in crisp tuxes, John Legend and Lecrae working through Franklin\u2019s soulful catalog, and a Brandy medley from Coco Jones, FLO and Kehlani<\/a>. Eve finally got her actual Grammy for her contributions to the Roots\u2019 \u201cYou Got Me,\u201d <\/a>while Leon Thomas<\/a> pressed the flesh wherever he could on his hunt for a best new artist win. Justin Timberlake emphatically danced to his early-career Pharrell hits like his last world tour was never ruined at all.<\/p>\n Franklin was gracious in his speech \u2014 \u201cBeing in a room of geniuses, it\u2019s humbling \u2026 I want to walk in humility and be a good man,\u201d but his gospel-crossover hits like \u201cStomp\u201d shook the room. Brandy looked a little awed to not just be returning to Grammy week stages, but so lovingly regarded as a preeminent vocalist of her era \u2014 \u201cI\u2019m very much alive, and I\u2019m still here, and by the grace of God, I have unlimited opportunity to get out and be somebody \u2014 maybe even an icon,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Album nominee Tyler, the Creator gently roasted his idol Williams \u2014 \u201cOutside of the weird bootcut jeans you\u2019ve been wearing, you seem to always have an answer,\u201d before lauding Williams\u2019 weirdo visionary spirit that drove him to make music.<\/p>\n Williams \u2014 the era-spanning hitmaker turned Louis Vuitton creative director \u2014 was poignant in his acceptance speech, flanked by Mason and Dre himself. \u201cI want to pray for the leaders of this nation, the ones who are giving these orders. I\u2019m praying they find it n their hearts \u2014 some empathy, some grace and most importantly some mercy for people who may not have been born in this country but love it just as much as you do.\u201d<\/p>\n He got a few groans when he closed with \u201cIt don\u2019t matter how you voted, it matters how you pray\u201d \u2014 a few attendees at my table noted under their breath that it clearly did matter how you voted \u2014 but his heart was in the right place for a guy who has achieved so much in music while keeping his sincerity about art\u2019s capacity to change minds.<\/p>\n On Saturday afternoon, at Lucian Grainge\u2019s annual Music is Universal Artist Showcase confab for the UMG stable in Hollywood, Olivia Rodrigo also spoke to the current crises in her acceptance speech for the company\u2019s Amplifier award for activism. Rodrigo\u2019s uncompromising advocacy for reproductive rights and healthcare is a fixture of her touring career; she\u2019s more recently been vociferous in opposing ICE\u2019s brutal raids.<\/p>\n \u201cMusic has always been about more than sound. It\u2019s about connection. It\u2019s about telling the truth,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s about showing up for one another, especially when it\u2019s uncomfortable or inconvenient. Now, more than ever, in Minneapolis, and around the world, our platforms, no matter the size, can amplify more than our own voices.\u201d<\/p>\n