J. Cole, Nas and Kanye West are in the runnings for Best Rap Album Grammys.
If you have been following the Kanye West and Drake saga, which has been pretty hard to miss lately, you know that the longtime enemies recently squashed their beef to come together for a greater cause, headlining a benefit concert to free incarcerated former gang-leader, Larry Hoover.
Now that the peacemaking is underway, it seems like these two have made lasting amends, but some new competition was added to the mix this week when Grammy nominations were announced. Ye and Drake have both been nominated in the Best Rap Album category, along with J. Cole, Nas, and Tyler, the Creator.
Drake has since pilled his album from Grammy consideration which means that he is no longer in the pool for Best Rap Album.
Prior to the beef squashing, the albums that earned Drake and Yeezy these nominations were a source of added tension between the two rappers earlier this year. There was a great deal of talk about who would release their album first, both of which were highly anticipated and repeatedly postponed, as well as which project would be better. Donda did eventually hit streaming services first, with Certified Lover Boy following less than a week later.
However, some sources claimed that Kanye rushed the release of his album just to beat Drake to the punch, possibly compromising the quality of his final product. While some fans continue to tout Donda as a masterpiece, the general consensus seems to lean in Drake’s favor when it comes to which album ended up having the best collection of tracks.
Meanwhile, as fans on both sides defended their favorites, Kanye decided to extend an olive branch to Drake as a symbol of unity, and Drake publicly accepted by inviting Ye to his Canadian home. However, it is difficult to put their personal history aside when seeing these nominations and considering what might come to pass if one of them does take home the trophy. However, there is the possibility that someone else in the category will take home the Grammy, passing over Drizzy and Ye entirely.
Nas won his first-ever Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the start of this year, and he may be taking home his second in the same category in February. J. Cole, who has been notoriously snubbed by the Grammys several times in his career, is also a promising possibility to take home the win in this category. Cole won his first Grammy in 2020 for Best Rap Song, but this is his third time being nominated for Best Rap Album.
Tyler the Creator and Drake are among those being mentioned as performing lower than expected on the list of nominees, considering both artists only received Best Rap Album nominations while being left out of the coveted Best Album category.
Kanye West managed to make it onto that exclusive list with Donda, as did Doja Cat, H.E.R, and Lil Nas X. There is an argument to be made that Kanye already won the album-for-album battle against Drake with this highly prized nomination, but if he fails to take home the trophy in this category while Drake takes home a win for Best Rap Album, we may see tension heat up once again.
Best Rap Album nominees
1. The Off-Season – J. Cole
2. King’s Disease II – Nas
3. Call Me If You Get Lost – Tyler, The Creator
4. Donda – Kanye West
