Jay-Z, the 47-year-old Brooklyn drug dealer turned rap mogul, received nominations in all three primary categories -– song, album and record of the year -– among eight in total. Lamar, 30, also is vying for album and record of the year, two of seven possible wins for the wordsmith from Compton, California. Their fellow nominees for album of the year are Lorde, Bruno Mars and Childish Gambino.
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The strong showings for Jay-Z and Lamar suggest this could finally be the year a rapper captures one of the top prizes. Jay-Z, Kanye West and Eminem rank among the most-nominated artists in the history of the Grammys. But no rapper has ever won record of the year, which honors performance and production, or song of the year, which is for songwriting. The only rappers to claim album of the year are Lauryn Hill and Outkast, both of whom won more than a decade ago.
Rhythm & blues and hip-hop surpassed rock as the most popular genre in the U.S. in 2017, according to Nielsen Music, about 40 years after rap emerged from the ashes of disco in New York City. Hip-hop artists dominate the charts of Spotify and Apple Music, paid streaming services that have boosted record industry sales three years in a row.
