Stewart: There's a difference between 90% and 100%.

When you listen to the records that win, they're 100%.

♪♪ People come to me because I can hear the difference between good and great.

♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: My name is Jacob Edgar.

I'm an explorer, but I don't search for lost cities or ancient ruins.

I'm on the quest for a different kind of treasure -- music.

[ Man singing in native language ] ♪♪ As an ethnomusicologist and world music record producer, I travel the globe hunting for the best songs the world has to offer, and I suffer through some of the worst so you don't have to.

♪♪ I've got a backstage pass to the world's music, and I won't stop until I've heard it all.

♪♪ Man: ♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪ ♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪ ♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪ ♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪ So far, on my "Road to Grammy" adventure, I've been to Denver, Colorado, Lafayette, Louisiana, and Washington, D.C. And I met up with Grammy nominees Béla Fleck, India.Arie, Cedric Watson, and others.

And now I'm on Hollywood Boulevard and what was always my ultimate destination, Los Angeles, California, where the Grammy Awards ceremony takes place.

Man: ♪ Let me see you move something right now ♪ ♪ Move your body, baby ♪ ♪ Move your body, girl ♪ ♪ Shake something in the club ♪ Now that I'm here, I'm gonna dive full on into the glitz and glamour of the Grammy world.

I'm meeting up with Tricky Stewart, who's been working behind the scenes with some of the top pop stars and creating the biggest hits that you can hear on the radio.

I'm also going to take some time out to explore L.A. and some of the places I used to visit when I lived here -- some of my favorite restaurants, nightclubs, record stores, radio stations, and more.

♪ ¿Fully loaded, smokin' potions of that good fire green ♪ ♪ Red carpet's at my feet ♪ ♪♪ Edgar: The Grammy Awards, which comes from the word "gramophone," were established in 1958 and are presented every year by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, or NARAS for short.

Nominees for a Grammy are voted on by their peers in the music industry.

And I've been a voting member on and off for the last 10 years or so.

It has arrived.

My invitation for the Grammy Award ceremony.

So as a NARAS, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences voting member, I get the privilege of paying a few hundred dollars to get a ticket to go to the Grammys.

♪ Somethin' right now, girl ♪ ♪ Move your body, baby ♪ ♪ Move your body, girl ♪ Edgar: The award holds great significance, not only in the minds of the broader public but with the artists themselves.

And there's really no bigger accolade in the music industry than a coveted Grammy Award.

♪ You got me counting your moves ♪ ♪ Like I was Count Dracula ♪ ♪ Tryin' to bite on your neck, neck ♪ ♪ Let's talk about ♪ The genres that are eligible for awards range from jazz and R&B to world music, Cajun and Zydeco, reggae, Hawaiian music, Native American music, country, folk, electronic, and the Latin Grammy Awards were launched as a separate entity entirely in the year 2000.

[ Salsa music plays ] You name it, there's something for all tastes and interests.

Although I still haven't gotten over the loss of the polka category last year.

Now, that was a heartbreaker.

But even though I may bite my nails every year over who wins in the Best World Music category... ♪♪ ...it's fair to say that most people only really pay attention to the star-studded categories such as Best New Artist, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year.

So I thought I'd take a behind-the-scenes look at the world of the Grammy elite by meeting up with one of the most successful songwriters and producers of recent years, a guy named Christopher "Tricky" Stewart.

[ Hip hop music plays ] ♪♪ Now, you might not be familiar with his name, but unless you've been living under a rock for the last few years, you'll probably know the artists for whom he's written or produced hit songs -- Rihanna, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Mary J. Blige, Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera, Kenny G. Okay.

I'm kidding about that last one.

I just wanted to make sure you were paying attention.

Anyway, you get the idea.

This year, Tricky is up for four Grammys, all for his work with the superstar Beyoncé, whose album "I Am...Sasha Fierce" he helped produce.

Not to mention being one of the writers for the smash hit "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)."

♪♪ Tricky invited me to his home in the Hollywood Hills.

This stylish place is just his pied-à-terre in Los Angeles, as he lives much of the time in Atlanta.

But despite the life of luxury, it turns out Tricky's a very laid-back guy, really friendly and open.

We sit down for a chat.

You're working with artists that are superstars -- you know, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, whatever.

For me, the biggest thing that I was always taught is to walk into a room with -- and be able to absorb the room.

And I guess, in a sense, it means to be able to walk into the room without an ego and to be able to come into the room and understand that you're there to extract an idea or a concept that's going on in someone's brain.

I'm the liaison between what she wants, what they need, and what the people want.

Truthfully, the microphone is the thing that captivates you.

No one comes into music going, "Hey, I want to be the behind-the-scenes guy."

You kind of end up there if you have enough love for music and enough common sense to put your skill set together in a way that you can still be passionate and still be close to the action.

And what's it like working with Beyoncé?

I mean, what -- what does she bring when she comes into the studio?

Perfection.

Beyoncé is the absolute real deal.

She is absolutely amazing.

She's better than -- even than it looks... Yeah.

...which is hard to imagine, but she's absolutely amazing.

Edgar: Talking to Tricky reinforces the fact that one of the secrets to being a producer to the stars is letting talented people be themselves and comfortable in the studio environment, sometimes a little too comfortable.

The studio has been a place that I've spent, you know, countless amount of hours in since I was 16 years old.

So I've seen pretty much everything that's happened in the real world happens in the studio.

My engineer, B, he says that he's going to write this book called "Behind the Board," and it's, like, just the things that you see.

Like, I've -- you know, I've seen people, I've worked with artists that can't work with clothes on, you know?

They cannot work with clothes on?

Yeah.

I mean, I've seen it.

I thought I was the only one.

Yeah, I've seen -- I've seen it all.

♪♪ What happens, I mean, if you win a Grammy?

Well, you know, it affects me mentally just because the Grammy, as a music maker and a person that's passionate about music, the Grammy is the thing that you're looking for the most to validate your success of "I've made it at at what I do."

♪♪ I think the biggest thing for me is that I want to become a mogul of music and entertainment.

You know, I just want to be important to my industry, to the point where you can't forget about me, like a Berry Gordy, like an L.A. Reid, like a Jimmy Iovine.

I want to accomplish enough things that when you look back at my career, you have to consider it where you have to honor it, where it's important and it was significant to music and to the history of music.

♪♪ Edgar: Even though the stuff he produces is intended for a mass audience, Tricky also knows that it takes true talent and creativity to rise to the next level.

♪♪ Later that night, I head over to Tricky's exclusive Grammy party, where stars roll up in tinted-window celebrity-mobiles.

♪ You see me rollin' ♪ ♪ In that laid-back stance ♪ ♪♪ I join reporters from TMZ, People magazine, and other paparazzi on the red carpet as celebrities and wannabes strut their stuff.

Hey, haven't I seen that guy on TV?

♪ Go out to Cali, all I see is sunshine and palm trees ♪ ♪ With the most jazziest broads walking on the beach ♪ I even see someone familiar, India.Arie, who I hung out with in Washington, D.C., recently.

Hi!

[ Laughs ] How are you?

Fancy meeting you here.

How's it been going, the whole thing around the Grammys and being in L.A. and all that stuff?

Fine.

Not much pressure.

Oh, that's good.

'Cause, I mean...

I'm just here to have fun.

Yeah?

Good.

Good.

See you guys inside?

Yep.

See you in there.

India.Arie.

♪♪ It's one of the most exclusive parties in town, and you've got to be well-connected to get inside.

No, really.

I'm supposed to be on the guest list.

♪ In that laid-back stance ♪ ♪ Hold on, you sit, while my girl do some spins ♪ ♪ That dirty floor, we done did it again ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ In the days leading up to the Grammy Award ceremony, all across L.A., there are parties, brunches, special events, concerts, and industry insiders all get together and hobnob.

Last night, I went to Tricky Stewart's party, and it was madness.

Christina Aguilera was there.

Stevie Wonder was there.

India.Arie.

Katy Perry.

It was a really amazing event.

Today, I've been invited to the Only in Louisiana Brunch, where they've flown in musicians and chefs from Louisiana.

Inside, there's gonna be Harry Connick, Jr., Trombone Shorty, Ledisi.

It's gonna be an amazing event, as well.

I'm gonna go check it out.

♪♪ ♪♪ The singer Ledisi is originally from New Orleans.

She's nominated this year for a Grammy in the R&B category.

I used to watch her perform in small clubs in San Francisco back before she made it big.

Here I am with Ledisi.

Hi!

And so we're in town for the Grammy Awards, right?

I know.

Again.

And it's amazing.

Here you are at a party, kind of a social event.

I mean, you've been going to other events while you're here?

There's a lot of brunches going on, But just hanging out with people, meeting.

You walking red carpet?

Walk red carpet?

Red carpet is long and fabulous.

You have to suck in the whole thing.

Oh, yeah, I definitely did that.

-Did you suck in?

-I did.

I was like Schwarzenegger.

And then you... Do you practice your poses?

Yeah, yeah.

I was working on my poses.

I worked on my last night.

I'm still working on them.

They're getting better.

People are pretty good at it, you know?

You know, and they have the -- over the shoulder.

It's amazing.

Oh, sorry.

So that's what you do.

♪ Marchin' in ♪ ♪ Oh, when the saints ♪ ♪ Go marchin' in ♪ Edgar: Joining Ledisi on stage is Trombone Shorty, who I've worked with before when he appeared as a guest musician on one of the albums on my label.

Shorty invites me to join him back home in New Orleans and see what really influences his music.

I'm already planning to take him up on that offer because I had a great trip the last time I was in Louisiana.

Edgar: We're gonna be coming to your town soon.

Real soon.

And you've got some adventures in mind?

Things we might try to do while we're down there?

Yeah, I got a bunch of stuff in mind.

We're just gonna indulge into the New Orleans culture, you know, maybe see some Mardi Gras Indians, go to a couple of second-lines or some jam sessions in the neighborhood in the Tremé neighborhood.

You know, eat some crawfish and gumbo.

Everything we can possibly think of.

Sounds terrible.

I don't know.

[ Laughs ] Sounds like it's not gonna be any fun.

We'll see you.

We'll see you.

♪♪ Edgar: I went to grad school and lived in Los Angeles for a few years, and because it's such an epicenter of the music industry, I'm here a lot for concerts, meetings, and conferences.

It did take me a while to get used to spending most of my waking hours in a car.

GPS: Prepare to turn left after a quarter mile onto Hollywood Boulevard.

Edgar: ...the celebrity culture... [ Paparazzi shouting ] ...and even the brown haze that covers the city like a fuzzy blanket.

But after a while, I really enjoyed living here, and I always have a great time whenever I visit.

This is such a massive city with so much to do and discover.

You can visit all the fascinating ethnic communities, and it really makes you feel like you're on a world tour right here in one place.

♪ The sky is streamlined ♪ ♪ Bright with sun ♪ A must-visit for me is Amoeba Records, perhaps the world's greatest record store.

Originally founded in Berkeley, California, it now has a branch in San Francisco and here on Hollywood Boulevard.

And in a time of record-industry consolidation, it's one of the last mega record stores still standing, and it's still going strong.

Amoeba's success comes from the fact that it has one of the best selections of new and used recordings on the planet, and it continues to hire passionate staff who are freakishly knowledgeable about music.

♪♪ Los Angeles is a great radio town, and one of the most influential independent radio stations in the world is KCRW.

♪♪ It's tastemaker DJs, many of whom work as music supervisors in film and television, are renowned for bringing early attention to eventual stars like Coldplay, Norah Jones, Beck, Dido, and countless others.

I'm Tom Schnabel, and you're listening to 89.9 KCRW.

One of the most amazing bands to come out of Mali, and there are so many different bands, is this one, Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba.

Edgar: Tom Schnabel is an old friend of mine, and he was the host of KCRW's flagship show, "Morning Becomes Eclectic," for 12 Years, and he was one of the first DJs in America to bring exotic sounds from around the globe to a large audience.

He meets up with me in the KCRW music library to show me around.

For people who don't know KCRW, explain what the station is.

It's known for its music.

It's known for breaking a lot of rules, in terms of what National Public Radio or what noncommercial radio is.

Sure.

It's eclectic.

You never really quite know what's going to happen.

Where are we right now?

We're in the music library.

This library, just like KCRW, breaks the rules.

You know, we've got classical, we've got pop, we've got world, we've got a large jazz library.

You know, I mean, like, really great stuff.

How many recordings do you think we have in this room?

Well, I don't really know.

I mean, it's kind of beyond counting at this point, but I think the last time someone counted it was something like 65 or 70,000 records, which is a lot for this -- for this room.

[ Man singing in native language ] Schnabel: You are listening to KCRW and kcrw.com.

We turn from the Malian groove of Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba.

We go to the great, the wonderful Tito Rodriguez, with a brand-new album called "El Inolvidable."

It means "the unforgettable."

He is one of the greatest of all Mambo Kings, and he's next here at 89.9 KCRW.

♪♪ Edgar: Speaking of mambo, El Floridita, a Cuban restaurant in Hollywood, serves fantastic Cuban cuisine and is known for legendary Latin-music jam sessions.

I invite an old friend and musician, Ricardo Lemvo, to meet me there for conversation and a few mojitos.

Ricardo is originally from the Congo, in Africa, and he grew up listening to the Cuban music that was popular in Africa at the time.

With his band Makina Loca, Lemvo has been bringing his unique Afro-Latin sound to audiences worldwide for over 20 years.

I've invited you to come to Floridita.

Oh, this is one of my favorite, favorite places.

Yeah, you know this place?

I've been coming here forever.

Yeah.

Every Monday night, you have to come here.

Johnny Polanco performs here.

Exactly.

And I've been here many, many times.

Right.

When I was at UCLA, and when I was living here, I came to Floridita probably every Monday night.

You know, it was great.

Great place.

It's a scene.

It's a great scene.

I mean, you've got -- it's really intimate, small, you know, everybody's dancing.

You got people of all ages, young, old.

Exactly.

You have to come here and experience the place.

And the mojito is great.

Well, speaking of... -Yeah?

-Would you like a mojito?

You know what?

It's a brilliant idea.

-All right, let's go have one.

-Okay.

Edgar: Like so many things in L.A., it's located in a mini mall.

But don't let the generic exterior fool you.

Inside, it's like being in a club in Old Havana.

♪♪ ♪♪ Ricardo and I catch up over a few mojitos, a Cuban cocktail made with rum, sugar, lime, sparkling water, and fresh crushed mint.

It's the perfect drink to build your energy up for some salsa dancing.

[ Salsa music plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ It's been quite a musical journey in my buildup to the Grammy Awards as I zigzagged across the country to meet up with Grammy nominees.

I started my voyage in Denver for a get-together with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, who's demonstrated that the banjo isn't just for hillbillies.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ From there, I headed to Washington, D.C., and had a great time sitting in on a once-in-a-lifetime jam session with India.Arie, African singer Dobet Gnahore, Israeli pop star Idan Raichel, and guitarist Blue Miller.

♪♪ [ Singing in native language ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ I left the nation's capital and made my way down to the capital of Cajun culture for a bayou bash with Creole youngblood Cedric Watson and some get-togethers with all of this year's nominees in the Cajun and Zydeco Grammy category.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Singing in French ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Whoo!

♪♪ Edgar: And then I hobnobbed with Tricky Stewart, producer for the stars, walking the red carpet at one of the music industry's most exclusive parties.

♪♪ ♪♪ Well, I finally reached the end of my road to a Grammy adventure.

I'm standing in front of the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, and the Grammy Awards ceremony is about to start.

So I've learned a lot on this trip, but perhaps more than anything, it's how much the Grammys mean to the artists that are nominated or, better yet, win an award.

It doesn't matter their level of fame or success, a Grammy nomination or, better yet, winning an award means a level of validation and respect from your peers that's unequaled.

Plus, for the rest of your career, you're going to have "Grammy-nominated" or, better yet, "Grammy-winning artist" tagged on after your name.

But you don't have to dig very deep into the list of nominees to discover some exceptional artists, be they banjo virtuosos, African divas, Zydeco legends, or R&B stars, hip-hop producers, you name it.

So I think I'm going to enter myself in a new category that I call the Best Ethnomusicological World Explorer, Rocky Mountain Oyster Eating, Harmonica Player Extraordinaire category.

Look out, Beyoncé.

Here I come.

[ Harmonica plays ] You know, I shouldn't be doing this.

I'll just ask John, the Grammy Man, to make me a custom statuette.

That's much easier.

I'll just take my ticket, go inside, and enjoy the show.

[ Harmonica plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪