Hip-hop wrestled for control of the Grammys (news - web sites) with the Janet Jackson (news) scandal on Sunday, as the eclectic rap duo OutKast, retiring rapper Jay-Z, producer-performer Pharrell Williams and the diva Beyonce led the field with six nominations each.
Pharrell won his first Grammy during the pre-telecast ceremony for his production work with partner Chad Hugo as white-hot hitmakers The Neptunes. They have produced songs for artists ranging from Justin Timberlake (news) to Jay-Z in 2003 alone.
The Neptunes weren't even nominated last year, because the record companies they produced hits for forgot to put them on the ballot. "I was a little upset last year," Pharrell acknowledged during his acceptance speech.
He also used the opportunity to stand up for friends Jackson and Justin Timberlake, saying the incident was overplayed.
"What happened at the Super Bowl was a bit much, but I happen to know both of those people ... and they've done great things to support people around the world."
The late Johnny Cash (news), and producer Mark Romanek, won a Grammy for best short form music video for the haunting song, "Hurt." Cash's wife, who died a few months before him in 2003, won best traditional folk album for the posthumous release, "Wildwood Flower."
Their son, John Carter Cash, accepted both awards. "I produced the record for my mother. It's amazing. She died last May, and she got to hear the record, she got to experience it before she passed on," he told the audience. "I think it's a swan song."
Another posthumous winner was Warren Zevon (news), who died of lung cancer just days after the release of his disc "The Wind," which won best contemporary folk album.
The unusual team of former president Bill Clinton (news - web sites), former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev and Sophia Loren (news) won best spoken word album for children for their reading on "Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf/Beintus: Wolf Tracks."
Jackson and Timberlake's breast-baring Super Bowl peep show, which sparked nationwide outrage and a federal investigation, caused CBS to institute a five-minute tape delay of the event to make sure no potentially offensive behavior made it on the air.
Prior to the Super Bowl, Jackson had been scheduled to attend the Grammys. On Sunday, Jackson's public relations firm said CBS and Grammy officials had asked her not to attend. Then, on Saturday, they reversed themselves and invited her. She declined, the statement said.
CBS and Grammy officials did not immediately return calls for comment.
Timberlake's performance at the show was never in doubt. He was up for five awards, including album of the year for his solo debut, "Justified."
Other performers included Beyonce, up for record of the year for her chart-topping hit, "Crazy in Love," and OutKast, heavy favorites to win album of the year for their double disc "Speakerboxxx-The Love Below," which mixed everything from pop to rock to jazz amid rap.
Nominated for five awards was Luther Vandross (news), who suffered a debilitating stroke last year, two months before the release of his album "Dance With My Father." The title track was nominated for song of the year, the first time the R&B crooner has been nominated in a major category at the Grammys.
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By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer
Hip-hop wrestled for control of the Grammys (news - web sites) with the Janet Jackson (news) scandal on Sunday, as the eclectic rap duo OutKast, retiring rapper Jay-Z, producer-performer Pharrell Williams and the diva Beyonce led the field with six nominations each. 
