West Blames Vote-Sharing For Grammy Album Loss

Rapper Kanye West holds vote-sharing responsible for losing out to U2 for the Grammy Album of the Year award.

But West, who walked away with three other accolades, including Best Rap Album for Late Registration and Best Rap Solo Performance for GOLD DIGGER, insists he was more concerned with the quality of his performance on the night (08FEB06) than winning best album.

He tells MTV, "I would have been more disappointed if I didn't have a good performance and I had won Album of the Year.

"The performance, that's what it's about, the entertainment and people having a good time. I just want to see the black colleges right now.

"I just want to go onto MySpace right now and see what people are saying."

When asked why he lost the main award he said, "Um, can we say vote splitting?"

On the day nominees were announced West expressed concerns that he and Mariah Carey would split votes between the urban music fans in the Recording Academy.

But the rapper was happy for Irish rockers U2, saying, "But that is my boy, Bono.

"He has taught me a lot about carrying the fame with grace. And the first thing I thought is, 'Let's go back to the studio, let's go.'

"It's good for me, I'm happy, because I have accomplished so much in the last two years, all the way from running the (G.O.O.D.) label to being the artist that you (go to when you) run out of things to do.

"So now it's like, 'OK, we didn't get the Album of the Year. Let's go (try again).'