Grammys 2013 Predictions: Rap Field
Drake’s sophomore album, Take Care, is the front-runner to win the Grammy for Best Rap Album. Drake’s 2010 debut album, Thank Me Later, was nominated for the award, but lost to Eminem’sRecovery. Take Care also has a good chance at a nomination for Album of the Year.
2 Chainz’s debut album, Based On A T.R.U. Story, is also likely to be nominated for Best Rap Album. In addition, 2 Chainz has several strong candidates for Best Rap Performance: His own hit “No Lie” (featuring Drake) and two songs on which he is featured, Kanye West’s “Mercy” and Nicki Minaj’s “Beez In The Trap.”
Frank Ocean, who is expected to dominate the nominations in the “marquee categories” (Album, Record and Song of the Year and Best New Artist), may also pull in a nom for Best Rap Album for Odd Future’s The OF Tape Vol. 2. Ocean is a member of the hip-hop collective, which is led by rapper/producer Tyler, The Creator. Ocean could also be nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for Jay-Z/Kanye West’s “No Church In The Wild,” on which he was featured.
Nas and The Roots, who are past nominees for Best Rap Album, have a good chance of making it back to the finals with Life Is Good and undun, respectively. The Roots have been the house band on NBC’s Late Night With Jimmy Fallon since the show’s premiere in 2009.
Kanye West Presents GOOD Music Cruel Summer, a Various Artists compilation, also has a fairly good chance of being nominated. That’s the way the title is rendered on The Billboard 200. The Recording Academy’s Entry List shows the title as simply Cruel Summer. The album would probably have had a better chance of making the finals if the longer title had been used. Kanye West’s name has a lot of power. He has won Best Rap Album four times. That’s second only toEminem, who has won the award five times.
The Jay-Z/West album Watch The Throne was a finalist for Best Rap Album last year. The biggest hit from the album, “Ni**as In Paris,” is likely to be nominated this year for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.
The Grammy nominations will be announced on a live TV special on Dec. 5. The awards will be presented on Feb. 10.
Want to see the five likely nominees (followed by some key alternates) in all of the categories in the rap field?
Check it out here on music.yahoo.com