The Official 2022 Hip Hop Grammys Thread

[Budda]

The same Kanye that wore a MAGA hat?

More normal Kanye before he went MAGA

 

[Piff Perkins]

The critics aren’t solely deciding who wins the Grammy so I don’t have any idea why you bought up that point. The articles that I quoted from @Ziggiy with their backhanded compliments is what prompt me to say that and Nas would be the first to tell you he isn’t loved by critics. Especially in regards to the likes of Kanye and Tyler who have got much love critically, Nas simply hasn’t got the critical praise he deserves since and possibly because of Illmatic, the fact that you point to his first Grammy in his illustrious 25 year career as evidence of the contrary says it all, Nas has one Grammy the same as Tyler the creator and one is in their 20’s while the other has been releasing classic albums before the other was even 5 years of age.

Kanye has 20+ Grammys by the way, the point about white liberal media is they push LGBt or lgbt aligned or eccentric off the wall and unhinged( so called creative) black men more than they do the straight edged normal street dude that Nas is, simple point.

The critics play a role in who wins Grammys and many are on the voting board, that's my point. And yet he still won last year and is nominated this year. So I don't see your point on that as it pertains to right NOW.

I'd argue that while he's not the critical darling, Nas has gotten critic praise for most of his career. The LA Times (the pub you're pointing to right now) gave near perfect scores to I Am, Stillmatic, God's Son, etc. Rolling Stone and other pubs gave him good reviews on most albums. Albums that get panned by "rap fans" were praised by critics, including Street's Disciple. Untitled got a 4/5 from Rolling Stone and multiple other good reviews. When you look at it he only has a handful of completely panned albums, from critics. With Nasir probably being the biggest example because even Nastradamus got some decent reviews. But the perception is that Nas has tolled away making gems while critics panned him, he never gets credit etc...that's literally not true. The clowning he's received has ironically been moreso online as certain narratives (beats, one good album, etc etc) gained hold, plus Pitchfork which is an online review site.

Hov has been winning Grammys for decades as a creative, straight black man. Eminem won Grammys for decades as a homophobic rapper. You're not arguing from a position of reality right now. You talk about unhinged off the wall gay black shyt being pushed and yet the Grammys have been dominated by Kendrick, Drake, Hov, and Kanye for a decade. Huh? Tyler wins a couple awards and suddenly it's a conspiracy? And if he wins this year it'll be for an album that's largely about him...being in love with a chick who has a girlfriend. And Tyler isn't gay so...what's your point.

 

[Budda]

The critics play a role in who wins Grammys and many are on the voting board, that's my point. And yet he still won last year and is nominated this year. So I don't see your point on that as it pertains to right NOW.

I'd argue that while he's not the critical darling, Nas has gotten critic praise for most of his career. The LA Times (the pub you're pointing to right now) gave near perfect scores to I Am, Stillmatic, God's Son, etc. Rolling Stone and other pubs gave him good reviews on most albums. Albums that get panned by "rap fans" were praised by critics, including Street's Disciple. Untitled got a 4/5 from Rolling Stone and multiple other good reviews. When you look at it he only has a handful of completely panned albums, from critics. With Nasir probably being the biggest example because even Nastradamus got some decent reviews. But the perception is that Nas has tolled away making gems while critics panned him, he never gets credit etc...that's literally not true. The clowning he's received has ironically been moreso online as certain narratives (beats, one good album, etc etc) gained hold, plus Pitchfork which is an online review site.

Hov has been winning Grammys for decades as a creative, straight black man. Eminem won Grammys for decades as a homophobic rapper. You're not arguing from a position of reality right now. You talk about unhinged off the wall gay black shyt being pushed and yet the Grammys have been dominated by Kendrick, Drake, Hov, and Kanye for a decade. Huh? Tyler wins a couple awards and suddenly it's a conspiracy? And if he wins this year it'll be for an album that's largely about him...being in love with a chick who has a girlfriend. And Tyler isn't gay so...what's your point.

Im not about to do back to back long posts with you but you can check metacritic for their respective scores and compare Nas Kanye and Tyler’s albums to get the point. You seem to think that the GOAT rapper of all time arguably having 1 Grammy is something to shout about, while I’m telling you the exact reason he hasn’t got more Grammies as opposed to Kanyes 20 or even Tyler’s one, is because partly he isn’t a critics darling like Tyler is like Kanye is and isn’t a mainstream superstar like Em
Or Jay are either. If you’re not a superstar like Drake Jay or Em, in the past the Grammies have been won by eccentric almost unhinged rappers who for however talented they are play to the media with shock value content and actions, like the self professed gay rapper with dyed hair Tyler the creator for example.

Nas is none of that, so it’s no surprise it took until he was almost 50 to win his first Grammy.

 

[Piff Perkins]

Im not about to do back to back long posts with you but you can check metacritic for their respective scores and compare Nas Kanye and Tyler’s albums to get the point. You seem to think that the GOAT rapper of all time arguably having 1 Grammy is something to shout about, while I’m telling you the exact reason he hasn’t got more Grammies as opposed to Kanyes 20 or even Tyler’s one, is because partly he isn’t a critics darling like Tyler is like Kanye is and isn’t a mainstream superstar like Em
Or Jay are either. If you’re not a superstar like Drake Jay or Em, in the past the Grammies have been won by eccentric almost unhinged rappers who for however talented they are play to the media with shock value content and actions, like the self professed gay rapper with dyed hair Tyler the creator for example.

Nas is none of that, so it’s no surprise it took until he was almost 50 to win his first Grammy.

Nas has one Grammy. Tyler has one Grammy.

Rap Grammys have largely gone to whoever had the biggest album or hit of the year. Given that Nas has never had the biggest album or hit in rap I don't think it's stunning he's had less Grammy success. The problem here is that your perspective is entirely driven by hardcore stan shyt, while I'm just looking at how this works. Nas didn't lose Grammys because some white feminist voter said "fukk Nas, I'm voting for...Eminem."

Let's look at them, since this is a Grammys thread.

1997: If I Ruled The World (rap song)

Lost to Hey Lover by LL, which was the bigger song that year chart wise. I think Nas should have won but is this controversial? No.

2000: I Am (rap album)

Lost to Slim Shady, which sold 4mil albums in 1999. That explains it on sales. If we talk about quality, I Am is probably the second worse album out of the batch of nominees. Things Fall Apart, ELE, Da Real World are all better albums IMO. I'd say I Am is better than Slim Shady LP.

2003: The Essence (rap duo/performance)

Outkast won with The Whole World. Other noms: Still Fly, Pass The Courvoisier, Oh Boy. The Essence is the only song on that list that doesn't have its own wikipedia page, which basically sums it up...

2008: Hip Hop Is Dead (rap album of the year)

Kanye wins with Graduation. The other noms: Finding Forever, Kingdom Come, TI v Tip. No one would argue HHID deserved to win that year. And if you rank the albums it's either the worse or second worse album nominated depending on your views of Kingdom Come. I'd say HHID is the second worse.

2009: Untitled (rap album of the year)

The Carter III, best selling and most important rap album of the year, wins. The other noms: American Gangster, The Cool, Paper Trail. If you guys want to tell me Nas had the best album in that category fine, but that's purely a stan opinion. The Cool is the best album nominated but Wayne deserved to win. Untitled is better than Paper Trail but not better than AG.

2009: ******/Slave And The Master (rap solo)

A Millie won. Does anyone find that controversial? I'm not even sure what Nas was nominated beyond Def Jam making the calls. Other songs nominated: Roc Boys (my choice), Paris Tokyo (why?), Sexual Eruption. Nothing controversial about who won.

2013: Life Is Good (rap album of the year)

Drake wins with Take Care. Biggest and most influential rap album of the year. Out of all the ones so far this is the first that feels like Nas could have won, or should have based on quality.

2013: Daughters (rap performance)

nikkas In Paris won. Grand opening grand closing, nothing controversial about that.

2013: Daughters (rap song)

nikkas In Paris again. Pretty obvious.

2013: Cherry Wine (rap/sung collab)

This is the second nom I felt like Nas had a good chance to win, was deserving, and had things in his favor (collab with a respected legend who had passed away). But No Church In The Wild won, and...I don't see how anyone could be mad at that. Bigger song, bigger collab, smash hit, etc.

2021: King's Disease (rap album)

Might be the first year where none of the rap albums received an RIAA cert. From a quality perspective there are 3-4 great albums there. Nas won. Some people complained Alfredo should have won but this was an obvious well deserved W for Nas against the weakest competition he had ever faced for a Grammy.

2022: King's Disease II (rap album)

Undetermined result but seems like it's gonna be Tyler or Kanye. Whoever wins, it won't be controversial. Each person is certainly deserving to win although I'd argue Kanye has the worst album by far in that category.


---

Point being, Nas not having a Grammy had nothing to do with him being hated on by critics, and everything to do with the competition and lack of sales/hits. End of story.

 

[Ziggiy]

Im not about to do back to back long posts with you but you can check metacritic for their respective scores and compare Nas Kanye and Tyler’s albums to get the point. You seem to think that the GOAT rapper of all time arguably having 1 Grammy is something to shout about, while I’m telling you the exact reason he hasn’t got more Grammies as opposed to Kanyes 20 or even Tyler’s one, is because partly he isn’t a critics darling like Tyler is like Kanye is and isn’t a mainstream superstar like Em
Or Jay are either. If you’re not a superstar like Drake Jay or Em, in the past the Grammies have been won by eccentric almost unhinged rappers who for however talented they are play to the media with shock value content and actions, like the self professed gay rapper with dyed hair Tyler the creator for example.

Nas is none of that, so it’s no surprise it took until he was almost 50 to win his first Grammy.

One thing I WILL say is that Nas’s last three albums have been pretty highly rated and fairly accessed (besides Pitchfork which REALLY Hates Nas for some odd reason) KD1 is sitting at 73 on Metacritic and it would have been in the high 80’s had Pitchfork not shyt on it. KD2 is at 86 and was about to be the highest rated Hip Hop Album since To Pimp A Butterfly before…you guessed it…PITCHFORK sabotaged its rating. Magic was at 88 before…lo and behold PITCHFORK butchered the ratings. As it stands all three of Nas recent albums are rated higher than Kanye’s and Drake’s last three studio albums.

 

[Ziggiy]

Nas has one Grammy. Tyler has one Grammy.

Rap Grammys have largely gone to whoever had the biggest album or hit of the year. Given that Nas has never had the biggest album or hit in rap I don't think it's stunning he's had less Grammy success. The problem here is that your perspective is entirely driven by hardcore stan shyt, while I'm just looking at how this works. Nas didn't lose Grammys because some white feminist voter said "fukk Nas, I'm voting for...Eminem."

Let's look at them, since this is a Grammys thread.

1997: If I Ruled The World (rap song)

Lost to Hey Lover by LL, which was the bigger song that year chart wise. I think Nas should have won but is this controversial? No.

2000: I Am (rap album)

Lost to Slim Shady, which sold 4mil albums in 1999. That explains it on sales. If we talk about quality, I Am is probably the second worse album out of the batch of nominees. Things Fall Apart, ELE, Da Real World are all better albums IMO. I'd say I Am is better than Slim Shady LP.

2003: The Essence (rap duo/performance)

Outkast won with The Whole World. Other noms: Still Fly, Pass The Courvoisier, Oh Boy. The Essence is the only song on that list that doesn't have its own wikipedia page, which basically sums it up...

2008: Hip Hop Is Dead (rap album of the year)

Kanye wins with Graduation. The other noms: Finding Forever, Kingdom Come, TI v Tip. No one would argue HHID deserved to win that year. And if you rank the albums it's either the worse or second worse album nominated depending on your views of Kingdom Come. I'd say HHID is the second worse.

2009: Untitled (rap album of the year)

The Carter III, best selling and most important rap album of the year, wins. The other noms: American Gangster, The Cool, Paper Trail. If you guys want to tell me Nas had the best album in that category fine, but that's purely a stan opinion. The Cool is the best album nominated but Wayne deserved to win. Untitled is better than Paper Trail but not better than AG.

2009: ******/Slave And The Master (rap solo)

A Millie won. Does anyone find that controversial? I'm not even sure what Nas was nominated beyond Def Jam making the calls. Other songs nominated: Roc Boys (my choice), Paris Tokyo (why?), Sexual Eruption. Nothing controversial about who won.

2013: Life Is Good (rap album of the year)

Drake wins with Take Care. Biggest and most influential rap album of the year. Out of all the ones so far this is the first that feels like Nas could have won, or should have based on quality.

2013: Daughters (rap performance)

nikkas In Paris won. Grand opening grand closing, nothing controversial about that.

2013: Daughters (rap song)

nikkas In Paris again. Pretty obvious.

2013: Daughters (rap/sung collab)

This is the second nom I felt like Nas had a good chance to win, was deserving, and had things in his favor (collab with a respected legend who had passed away). But No Church In The Wild won, and...I don't see how anyone could be mad at that. Bigger song, bigger collab, smash hit, etc.

2021: King's Disease (rap album)

Might be the first year where none of the rap albums received an RIAA cert. From a quality perspective there are 3-4 great albums there. Nas won. Some people complained Alfredo should have won but this was an obvious well deserved W for Nas against the weakest competition he had ever faced for a Grammy.

2022: King's Disease II (rap album)

Undetermined result but seems like it's gonna be Tyler or Kanye. Whoever wins, it won't be controversial. Each person is certainly deserving to win although I'd argue Kanye has the worst album by far in that category.


---

Point being, Nas not having a Grammy had nothing to do with him being hated on by critics, and everything to do with the competition and lack of sales/hits. End of story.

I’d argue that Nas should have won at least four of those categories (Best Rap Solo in 97) (Best Rap Album in 2013 which REALLY broke my heart as nobody will EVER convince me that Take Care was better than Life Is Good) (Best Rap Song in 2013 for Daughters. Best Rap Song is a writer’s award and is a better WRITTEN song than nikkas In Paris) and (Best Rap/Sung in 2013, which I thought was another egregious robbery)


I wanted Untitled to win in 2009, and I think history has been kinder to Untitled as an album than Carter 3 but The Carter 3 was a JUGGERNAUT for its time and there was absolutely NO WAY Lil Wayne was losing that one. He probably should have actually won AOTY that year too just based on how huge of a cultural force that album was, but people forget 08 was actually a pretty big year for Nas as well. Untitled was THE album that ended Tha Carter 3’s reign atop the billboard charts and he was pretty visible that year with interviews and performances.

 

[Ziggiy]

Fader says they are looking forward to Nas’s performance.


RH: I'm hoping BTS end up performing, even if it has to be without Jungkook and J-Hope (both of whom recently tested positive for COVID). They always put on a killer show, whether or not you're familiar with the songs. It'll also be cool to watch Olivia Rodrigo make her Grammys debut, and to see what Nas performs after King's Disease took Best Rap Album last year.


Here are our predictions for the 2022 Grammys

 

[Ziggiy]

@Jax Grammys are tomorrow. Can we get a sticky?

 

[waynep]

Its always interesting to see which Rap categories they choose to televise and which are part of the pre-ceremony. Often that gives clues to who wins. When Best Rap Album is televised it usually means a big star won and when its not it means somebody NOT named Kanye, Eminem, or Kendrick won so we’ll see.


Either way i’m riding for Nas to win although i wouldn’t be too upset if Cole manages to pull it off ( he won’t). Tyler is whatever to me, i’ve never been a fan and Kanye winning would be a disgrace to Hip Hop

Any news on if it's a pre ceremony airing again?

 

[Ziggiy]

Any news on if it's a pre ceremony airing again?

Been looking haven’t gotten any confirmation as of yet.


I’ll post when it all becomes available

 

[Ziggiy]

Complex of COURSE wants Tyler to win Best Rap Album


Best Rap Album

Image via YouTube/Tyler, the Creator
Nominees: J. Cole (The Off-Season), Drake (Certified Lover Boy), Nas (King’s Disease II), Tyler, the Creator (Call Me If You Get Lost), Kanye West (Donda)

Who will win: Tyler, the Creator – Call Me If You Get Lost

The Grammys and Tyler don’t have the smoothest history, considering the 2020 flap over IGOR being nominated in the rap category instead of in the main categories. But there’s less ambiguity this year about Call Me If You Get Lost’s status in the rap category. If you take narratives into account, the Academy might give him the nod, in part to get on his good side. If his latest efforts are any indication, he’s going to be in contention for their top awards for the foreseeable future. Why not get one of those immaculate performances on the Grammys program?

Who should win: Tyler, the Creator – Call Me If You Get Lost

That’s not at all to say this would be a mere political pick, though. Call Me If You Get Lostis the best choice in this category. For one, it’s the only album that could be widely considered the nominated artist’s best effort. He put 110% into the project, and it feels like everything the Grammys like to award: it’s a fun, melodic, lovelorn record with pop sensibilities, but more than enough bars to impress. It would honestly be a travesty if any of the other records got Best Rap Album this time around. —Andre Gee

2022 Grammys Predictions: Who Will Win and Who Should Win

 

[Budda]

Complex of COURSE wants Tyler to win Best Rap Album


Best Rap Album

Image via YouTube/Tyler, the Creator
Nominees: J. Cole (The Off-Season), Drake (Certified Lover Boy), Nas (King’s Disease II), Tyler, the Creator (Call Me If You Get Lost), Kanye West (Donda)

Who will win: Tyler, the Creator – Call Me If You Get Lost

The Grammys and Tyler don’t have the smoothest history, considering the 2020 flap over IGOR being nominated in the rap category instead of in the main categories. But there’s less ambiguity this year about Call Me If You Get Lost’s status in the rap category. If you take narratives into account, the Academy might give him the nod, in part to get on his good side. If his latest efforts are any indication, he’s going to be in contention for their top awards for the foreseeable future. Why not get one of those immaculate performances on the Grammys program?

Who should win: Tyler, the Creator – Call Me If You Get Lost

That’s not at all to say this would be a mere political pick, though. Call Me If You Get Lostis the best choice in this category. For one, it’s the only album that could be widely considered the nominated artist’s best effort. He put 110% into the project, and it feels like everything the Grammys like to award: it’s a fun, melodic, lovelorn record with pop sensibilities, but more than enough bars to impress. It would honestly be a travesty if any of the other records got Best Rap Album this time around. —Andre Gee

2022 Grammys Predictions: Who Will Win and Who Should Win

Smh at the last line

 

[DaHNIC82]

This shyt aint gonna move a needle. Give Suge Knight a live mic via Satellite and let him go off or something

 

[ThirdAct]

Rooting for Nas to get the twopeat but I think they are gonna give it to Tyler or Cole.

 

[Ziggiy]

American Songwriters Rap Predictions


Best Rap Album
The Off-Season, J. Cole
King’s Disease II, Nas
Call Me If You Get Lost, Tyler, the Creator
Donda, Kanye West

American Songwriter Picks: Tyler, the Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost

Best Melodic Rap Performance
“Pride Is the Devil,” J. Cole feat. Lil Baby
“Need to Know,” Doja Cat
“Industry Baby,” Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow
“WusYaName,” Tyler, the Creator feat. YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Ty Dolla $ign
“Hurricane,” Kanye West feat. the Weeknd and Lil Baby

American Songwriter Picks: Kanye West’s “Hurricane”

Best Rap Song
“My Life,” J. Cole feat. 21 Savage and Morray
“Bath Salts,” DMX feat. Jay-Z and Nas
“Family Ties,” Baby Keem feat. Kendrick Lamar
“Best Friend,” Saweetie feat. Doja Cat
“Jail,” Kanye West feat. Jay-Z

American Songwriter Picks: DMX’s “Bath Salts”


American Songwriter's Staff Predictions for the 2022 Grammy Awards