NEW YORK - Jay-Z, who once boycotted the Grammys as biased against hip-hop, was hailed Sunday by the music industry's power brokers ahead of the latest awards where he leads nominations.

The rapper who rose from a broken home to become a hip-hop multimillionaire was contrite over his previous attacks on the Grammys when he accepted a prize as an "industry icon" at a pre-award gala thrown by veteran music executive Clive Davis.

Jay-Z refused to attend the Grammys in 1999 because the Recording Academy which administers the awards snubbed fellow rapper DMX.

He stayed away, upset at the lack of recognition for hip-hop, until coming in 2004 with wife-to-be Beyonce, who joined him on Sunday.

"I realize like, man, art is super subjective and everybody is doing their best and the Academy, they are human like we are," Jay-Z told the packed ballroom in New York's Times Square.

"We can pretend we don't care, but we really care," he said of Grammy recognition. "We care because we see the most incredible artists stand on that stage and we aspire to be there."

A who's who of top artists performed in Jay-Z's honor, with soul legend Gladys Knight singing her classic "Midnight Train to Georgia" and Luis Fonsi dancing through his viral hit "Despacito."

Alicia Keys weaved Jay-Z's songs from "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" to their collaboration "Empire State of Mind" into a piano medley, in which she raised her hands and led a chant of the rapper's nickname Hov.

The music industry's premier awards gala - which has returned to New York after 15 years in Los Angeles - is shaping up to be a big night for hip-hop, which for the first time makes up a majority of nominations in the top categories. - AP