There were some pretty big moments in music in the past year. It seems that once the pandemic lockdowns were lifted, the music landscape was inundated with music releases from major to independent.
Among the wave of creative content, nothing appeared to be bigger than the fiasco surrounding the Drake and Kanye West album releases. Fans were amused and entertained by the drama that brewed between the two marketing geniuses. The climatic storyline did well for both artists, with Kanye’s ‘Donda’ making a reported 309,000 in first week sales while Drake’s ‘Certified Lover Boy’ brought in 613,000.
On the streets, the war of music became generational and political with many siding with Drake simply because of Kanye’s past political antics and public persona. Now that Kanye and Drake have supposedly buried the hatchet, it’s all about the drip…the Grammys drip. The question is which artist holds more weight when it comes to the systemic power infrastructure that has been notorious for awarding their favorites?
Album of the Year – Kanye Over Drake
Hands down, one nomination category that shook the room was “Album of the Year.” ‘Donda’ is definitely nominated, but ‘CLB’ seems to have been forgotten. Kanye is up against the likes of Jon Batiste, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, Billie Eilish, H.E.R., Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Doja Cat, and Lil Nas X. Our guess is that Doja Cat or Grammy fave Taylor Swift will take home the award, but Kanye is well-deserving.
Best Rap Performance – Drake Over Kanye
Drake wins over Kanye in the “Best Rap Performance” category. His playful single “Way 2 Sexy,” featuring Future and Young Thug, received a nom nod, and considering his competition (Cardi B, Baby Keem, J. Cole, and Megan Thee Stallion) he has a great chance of winning. However, it seems that the comedic video that accommodated the song was snubbed in the “Best Music Video” category, which is a crying shame.
Best Melodic Rap Performance – Kanye Over Drake
Kanye earns another nomination for his retrospective single “Hurricane” in the “Best Melodic Rap Performance” category. The song features Lil Baby and The Weeknd, serving as one of the standout tracks on ‘Donda.’ Unfortunately, Drake was not nominated for this category, although his songs “Love All” with Jay-Z or “Fair Trade” with Travis Scott could have slid in the category. The issue with Drake’s album release strategy is that he had so many singles roll out within such a short period that they all seemed to disappear into the array of music saturation just as fast as they were released. Although Drake is absent, Kanye still has much to be weary about as he goes head to head with Doja Cat, Tyler, The Creator, Lil Nas X, and J. Cole.
Best Rap Song – Kanye Over Drake
Jay-Z may not have nabbed a nomination by being on Drake’s album, but he did with his frenemy Kanye West. In the category of “Best Rap Song,” Kanye and his big bro are nominated for “Jail.” Again, Drake is nowhere to be found, but instead is pushed out by hitmakers and viral hip hop lobbyists, such as J. Cole, DMX, Baby Keem, and Saweetie.
Best Rap Album – Kanye + Drake
Then, there’s the big one — “Best Rap Album.” Both, Kanye and Drake are nominated, but so are J. Cole, who is a repeat nominee offender this year, veteran rapper Nas, and award show favorite and LBGTQA+ friendly artist, Tyler, The Creator. Our bets are on Tyler. For one, his album is actually a phenomenal masterpiece from top to bottom. Secondly, we’ve been seeing him perform all over the place…one sure indicator that he’s a favorite.
With Kanye leading Drake in nominations 4-2, it looks like the Grammys made a clear choice in the battle of the hip hop heavyweights. We have to wonder if the recent Astroworld tragedy in which festival attendees died as Travis Scott and Drake performed on stage had anything to do with the Grammys’ decision to limit Drake’s nominations.
It would be a PR nightmare if Drake was one of the highest nominated artists this year — and we’re sure all kind of conspiracy theories would be born if he did receive so many nominations after such a horrific event. So, maybe the Grammys are treading carefully as a result. Who knows, but we bet Kanye is secretly happy.
At the end of the day, both artists have expressed resentment toward the Grammys. So, who knows if either artist will show up. Lucky for fans, we have that free Larry Hoover concert to look forward to if they don’t.
The 64th Grammy Awards air Mon, Jan. 31, 2022 on CBS.
