Reactions to the 53rd Annual Grammy Award Hip-Hop Nominations (2011)

Okay, first thing’s first: I apologize for not finishing my predictions for the other remaining hip-hop categories, as I have been very busy with my life. I actually did type all of my predictions, and it’s still on my Word document on my laptop, but I never had the time to actually post it up with reasons and everything. Anyway, these are my reactions to the hip-hop nominations (it’s only reasonable to post them since I [attempted] to predict them).

BEST RAP ALBUM:

1) B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray by B.o.B

2) Thank Me Later by Drake

3) Recovery by Eminem

4) The Blueprint 3 by Jay-Z

5) How I Got Over by The Roots

Now, the winner will be Recovery, no doubt. It’s also nominated for Album of the Year, so it’ll pretty much eat this category. I’m glad that my predictions were close, though How I Got Over‘s nomination isn’t that much of a surprise. The Academy has actually nominated their albums in this category several times before (4 times total), but I guess I didn’t expect a nomination from them because their Rising Down album wasn’t nominated back in 2009 (there were tough competition, though, but one would expect a dark and political album from The Roots to get nominated, yeah?). Plus, Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon: The End of Day seemed like a likely choice to me, with it being produced by Kanye and everything. As for the other albums that got nominated, what can I say? Eminem and Jay-Z were automatic nominations, as they’ve almost always been nominated in this category ever since they broke out, and Drake and B.o.B just felt like strong potential nominees based on their positive buzz and sales.

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration:

1) “Nothin’ On You” by B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars

2) “Deuces” by Chris Brown featuring Tyga & Kevin McCall

3) “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem featuring Rihanna

4) “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys

5) “Wake Up Everybody” by John Legend and The Roots featuring Common & Melanie Fiona

Well, the nominations for this category were kind of interesting. I knew “Love the Way You Lie,” “Nothin’ On You,” and “Empire State of Mind” were gonna get nominated, the latter of which will probably win, but “Power” by Mr. West and Dwele was not nominated. Then, I searched up the album and found out Dwele wasn’t credited for his “Jumpin’ out the window / I’m lettin’ everything go” singing he was originally credited for. And it turns out “Power” was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance, so I definitely knew the Academy wouldn’t slip Kanye out; I’ll get to this later on. My last prediction was “California Gurls” by Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg, which I’m surprised at it not getting nominated. As much as Snoop’s verse was wack, it was still a huge hit anthem over the summer. I guess the Academy made a smart choice on this one: “Wake Up Everybody” by John Legend, The Roots, Common, and Melanie Fiona seems like an unconventional choice, but it appears they’ve got something right at the least. “Deuces” was a head-scratcher for me. Even “Bottoms Up” by Trey Songz and Nicki Minaj could’ve been a better nomination, in my opinion; that song is dope as hell, plus it was a hit single. Or “Billionaire” by Travie McCoy? Or perhaps Usher’s “Hot Tottie?” Oh, well…

I will continue with my other reactions when I have time… Thanks for reading!