Okay, maybe not the whole world, but we definitely took the Grammys. Kanye was king last weekend with his Graduation receiving nods in eight categories and taking home four awards ("Best Rap Solo Performance", "Best Rap Duo" with fellow Chi-guy Common, "Best Rap Song" and "Best Rap Album"). What's more, the rapper's heart-wrenching performance-a tribute to his recently departed mother-left nary a dry eye in the house.

If Kanye's king, than the Queen Bee (hive) of this story is Amy Winehouse, who plans to present one of her awards to her incarcerated husband (prison officials must first determine that the statue cannot be used as a weapon). Winehouse certainly has Grammys to spare-she took the prize in five categories including best record and best new artist. The pervasive Rehab even beat out our Plain White T's for song of the year, but the lady didn't sweep; Chicago-bred Herbie Hancock emerged from obscurity to claim the night's grand prize-album of the year-for River: The Joni Letters. To say the win was unexpected is to put it mildly-- paltry album sales and lackluster reviews kept the smart bets well away from the Joni Mitchell tribute. Suffice to say, the album has experienced quite a sales bump since the ceremony.

Although the film came out ages ago, strategic release of the soundtrack resulted in a friend for Jennifer Hudson's Oscar. At least in spirit, as the award was actually in a writer's category. The Southside lady crooned the way to a win for Love You I Do from the Dreamgirls soundtrack, and the "Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media" award was presented to songwriters Siedah Garrett & Henry Krieger.

Lupe Fiasco took home the Best Urban/Alternative Performance for his Daydreamin' (which featured Jill Scott). Wilco's "Sky Blue Sky" received the nod for Best Rock Album, but the Foo Fighters walked away with the prize.

But Barack had Tweedy's back--to seal Chicago's Grammy-grabbing status, Senator Obama beat out former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter for "Best Spoken Word Album." Maybe it was this pop-culture validation of The Audacity of Hope that lead to a clean sweep of this week's primaries?