The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".
In 1995, the Academy announced the addition of the award category Best Rap Album. The first award was presented to the group Naughty by Nature at the 38th Grammy Awards the following year. According to the category description guide for the 52nd Grammy Awards, the award is presented for "albums containing at least 51% playing time of tracks with newly recorded rapped performances". Award recipients often include the producers, engineers, and/or mixers associated with the nominated work in addition to the recording artists.
As of 2023, Eminem holds the record for the most wins in this category, with six. Lauryn Hill was the first female artist to win in this category, when she won in 1997 with the Fugees.e duo Outkast and rapper Tyler, The Creator have both received the award twice. Jay-Z holds the record for the most nominations, with eleven. Drake became the first non-American winner in this category when he won in 2013. The Roots have received the most nominations without a win, with five. Eminem and West are the only artists to win the award in consecutive years, with Eminem achieving the feat twice. In 2016, Drake's If You're Reading This It's Too Late became the first mixtape to get nominated for the award, and in 2017, Chance the Rapper's Coloring Book became the first mixtape to win the award. Cardi B became the first solo female rapper to win for Invasion of Privacy.
Recipients
Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.
Artists with multiple wins
6 wins
Eminem
4 wins
Kanye West
3 wins
Kendrick Lamar
2 wins
Outkast
Tyler, the Creator
Artists with multiple nominations
11 nominations
Jay-Z
8 nominations
Kanye West
7 nominations
Eminem
6 nominations
Drake
Nas
5 nominations
The Roots
4 nominations
Common
Lupe Fiasco
Missy Elliott
Kendrick Lamar
3 nominations
Ludacris
Nelly
T.I. Tyler, The Creator
2 nominations
Nicki Minaj
J. Cole
Dr. Dre
Lil Wayne
LL Cool J
50 Cent
Outkast
ScHoolboy Q
A Tribe Called Quest
2Pac
Pusha T
DJ Khaled
See also
Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance
Grammy Award for Best Rap Song
Hip hop music
References
General
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