The rapper also suggests two tracks from the joint album with 21 Savage for nomination.
In recent years, Drake not only boycotted the Grammy Awards by staying away from the ceremony and pulling his works from the selection, he also publicly criticized the Recording Academy’s nomination process. After years of reluctance, the Canadian rapper is now submitting his album HER LOSS, which he created together with 21 Savage, for consideration.
It has long been known that Drake has a fundamental problem with the Grammys as an institution. When he won an award in 2019 for his hit “God’s Plan,” he used his acceptance speech to criticize the Academy for, among other things, a lack of diversity among the nominees.
He also seemed particularly upset in 2020 after fellow musician The Weeknd failed to receive a single nomination for his record AFTER HOURS, despite it being the best-selling R&B album of the year. The rapper, who has won a total of five Grammys in the past, believed that “we should stop being shocked every year by the discrepancy between impactful music and these awards.”
The following year, the artist pulled the ripcord and withdrew his music from the selection process – even though two of his works were nominated for the 2022 Grammys. His record CERTIFIED LOVER BOY was up for selection as “Best Rap Album,” and the song “Way 2 Sexy” in collaboration with Future and Young Thug could have won the award for “Best Rap Performance.”
Drake then decided not to submit his solo album HONESTLY, NEVERMIND, nor any of the singles contained therein, for this year’s Grammys, which took place on February 5, 2023.
The singer is now obviously ending this boycott. HER LOSS is available in both the “Album Of The Year” and “Best Rap Album” categories. Drake and 21 Savage have also submitted the songs “Rich Flex” and “Spin Bout U” from their joint 2022 LP, in five different categories: “Record Of The Year”, “Song Of The Year”, “Best Rap Song”, “Best Rap Performance” and “Best Melodic Rap Performance”. There are also two other tracks from Drake in the nomination process – including the song with Travis Scott “Meltdown” and “Oh U Went” with Young Thug.
Which titles are ultimately nominated and have a chance of winning a prize on February 4th, 2024 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles will be announced on November 10th.
Most recently, Drake released his eighth solo album FOR ALL THE DOGS, which features guest features from Bad Bunny, J. Cole, SZA and Lil Yachty. Shortly afterwards, the rapper announced that he was temporarily retiring from music to focus on his health.