Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino and More Nominated for 2018 Grammy Awards
And just like that, nominees for the 2018 Grammy Awards have been announced. To the surprise of no one, JAY-Z and Kendrick Lamar are among the top contenders.
For his part, K. Dot was nominated for a total of seven awards including Record of the Year ("Humble") and Album of the Year (DAMN.) while Hov, on the other hand, earned eight nominations for Record of the Year ("The Story Of O.J."), Song of the Year ("4:44") and Album of the Year (4:44), among others.
Also leaving his mark on the nominations for the 2018 Grammy Awards is Childish Gambino, whose funkadelic album, "Awaken, My Love!" earned a nom for Album of the Year. "Redbone," which is a single from the album, took home a nomination for Record of the Year.
Representing for rap game newcomers was 2016 XXL Freshman Lil Uzi Vert, who was nominated for Best New Artist. We knew he was going places. Repping the more hip-hop adjacent side of R&B, Top Dawg Entertainment's SZA earned a nomination for Best New Artist.
One huge surprise with this list is the omission of Metro Boomin. For the last couple years, the St. Louis producer has acted as a soundtrack for the rapidly evolving rap landscape, with singles like Post Malone's "Congratulations" and Migos' "Bad and Boujee" and several more going platinum. Earlier this year, he was called the biggest songwriter/producer of 2017. Naturally, we were expecting him to be nominated for Producer of the Year but it seems he's been excluded.
Check out the list for yourself below and see all 84 categories at Grammys.com here.
2018 Grammy Awards Nominations
Record of the Year
(This award goes to the Artist, the producer(s), recording engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s), if other than the artist.)
“Redbone,” Childish Gambino, Ludwig Goransson, producer; Donald Glover, Ludwig Goransson, Riley Mackin & Ruben Rivera, engineers/mixers; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer
“Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber, Josh Gudwin, Mauricio Rengifo & Andrés Torres, producers; Josh Gudwin & Jaycen Joshua, engineers/mixers; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer
“The Story of O.J.,” JAY-Z & No I.D., producers; Jimmy Douglas & Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton, engineers/mixers; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer
“Humble,” Kendrick Lamar, Mike Will Made-It, producer; Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, James Hunt & Matt Schaeffer, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
“24K Magic,” Bruno Mars, Shampoo Press & Curl, producers; Serban Ghenea, John Hanes & Charles Moniz, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer
Album of the Year
(Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with at least 33% playing time of the album, if other than Artist.)
Awaken, My Love!, Childish Gambino, Ludwig Goransson, producer; Bryan Carrigan, Donald Glover, Ludwig Goransson, Riley Mackin & Ruben Rivera, engineers/mixers; Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer
4:44, JAY-Z, JAY-Z & No I.D., producers; Jimmy Douglas & Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton, engineers/mixers; Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer
DAMN., Kendrick Lamar, DJ Dahi, Sounwave & Anthony Tiffith, producers; Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, James Hunt & Matt Schaeffer, engineers/mixers; K. Duckworth, D. Natche, M. Spears & A. Tiffith, songwriters; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
Melodrama, Lorde, Jack Antonoff & Lorde, producers; Serban Ghenea, John Hanes & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Jack Antonoff & Ella Yelich-O'Connor, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
24K Magic, Bruno Mars, Shampoo Press & Curl, producers; Serban Ghenea, John Hanes & Charles Moniz, engineers/mixers; Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence & Bruno Mars, songwriters; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer
Song of the Year
(A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)
"Despacito," Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi & Marty James Garton, songwriters (Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber)
"4:44," Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (JAY-Z)
"Issues," Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels & Justin Drew Tranter, songwriters (Julia Michaels)
"1-800-273-8255," Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury & Khalid Robinson, songwriters (Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid)
"That's What I Like," Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars)
Best New Artist
Khalid
Lil Uzi Vert
Julia Michaels
SZA
Best Urban Contemporary Album
(For albums containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded contemporary vocal tracks derivative of R&B.)
Free 6LACK, 6LACK
"Awaken, My Love!," Childish Gambino
American Teen, , Khalid
Ctrl, SZA
Starboy, The Weeknd
Best R&B Album
(For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new R&B recordings.)
Freudian, Daniel Caesar
Let Love Rule, Ledisi
24K Magic, Bruno Mars
Gumbo, PJ Morton
Feel The Real, Musiq Soulchild
Best Rap Performance (For a rap performance, singles or tracks only.)
"Bounce Back," Big Sean
"Bodak Yellow," Cardi B
"4:44," JAY-Z
"Humble," Kendrick Lamar
"Bad and Boujee," Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert
Best Rap/Sung Performance
(For a solo or collaborative performance containing both elements of R&B melodies and rap.)
"PRBLMS," 6LACK
"Crew," Goldlink Featuring Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy
"Family Feud," JAY-Z Featuring Beyoncé
"Loyalty," Kendrick Lamar Featuring Rihanna
"Love Galore," SZA Featuring Travis Scott
Best Rap Song
(A song must contain music and lyrics and must be either a new song or a song first achieving prominence during the eligibility year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.))
"Bodak Yellow," Dieuson Octave, Klenord Raphael, Shaftizm, Jordan Thorpe, Washpoppin & J White, songwriters (Cardi B)
"Chase Me," Judah Bauer, Brian Burton, Hector Delgado, Jaime Meline, Antwan Patton, Michael Render, Russell Simins & Jon Spencer, songwriters (Danger Mouse Featuring Run The Jewels & Big Boi)
"Humble.," K. Duckworth, Asheton Hogan & M. Williams II, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar)
"Sassy," E. Gabouer & M. Evans, songwriters (Rapsody)
"The Story Of O.J.," Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (JAY-Z)
Best Rap Album
4:44, JAY-Z
DAMN., Kendrick Lamar
Culture, Migos
Laila's Wisdom, Rapsody
Flower Boy, Tyler, The Creator
Best Traditional R&B Performance
“Laugh And Move On” – The Baylor Project
“Redbone” – Childish Gambino
“What I’m Feelin'” – Anthony Hamilton Featuring The Hamiltones
“All The Way” – Ledisi
“Still” – Mali Music
Best Dance Recording
“Bambro Koyo Ganda” – Bonobo feat. Innov Gnawa
“Cola” – Camelphat & Elderbrook
“Andromeda” – Gorillaz feat. DRAM
“Tonite” – LCD Soundsystem
“Line Of Sight” – Odesza feat. WYNNE & Mansionair
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Calvin Harris
Greg Kurstin
Blake Mills
No I.D.
The Stereotypes
Best Music Video
“Up All Night” – Beck
“Makeba” – Jain
“The Story Of O.J.” – JAY-Z
“Humble.” – Kendrick Lamar
“1-800-273-8255” – Logic feat. Alessia Cara & Khalid
Best Music Film
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – One More Time with Feeling
The Grateful Dead – Long Strange Trip
Various Artists – The Defiant Ones
Various Artists – Soundbreaking
Various Artists – Two Trains Runnin`
See Photos of JAY-Z's Different Looks Over the Years