Friday Favecast

How I Really Feel About This Year’s GRAMMY Rap Nominations

Now that the nominations for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards are have been announced, I cannot tell you how ecstatic I am about this year’s nominees. I haven’t been this excited about music in a very long time. In the RAP category, some of my favorite veterans as well as newcomers have grabbed some GRAMMY attention and some will walk away winners on January 31st. In my mind, they’ve already won by having their gift of expression recognized in a major way.

Jay-Z‘s “Death of AutoTune” is a Rap Category favorite — appearing in Best Solo Performance and Best Rap Song subcategories. The young thundercat, Drake, caught my attention with his mixtape, So Far Gone, and his single “Best I Ever Had” was the inspiration for my “you da, you da best!” outbursts this summer. Continuing his growing presence, Kanye West is all over the rap category. In the Collaboration subcategory alone, his performances with Beyonce, Jay-Z, Rhianna, Kid Cudi and Keri Hilson gives him a 75% chance of winning.

My enthusiasm was truly stirred when I checked out the Best Rap Album category. Chitown’s finest, Common is in the running for Universal Mind Control while Eminem’s return to the spotlight gained him a nom for Relapse. These MCs are proven for their lyrical prowess spanning more than a decade. The category keeps the conscious rhyme vibe with nominations for the mighty Mos Def and Kamaal the Abstract aka Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest. Mos Def’s Ecstatic LP features quite a few instant classics that stay in rotation on my iPod. And I’ve been riding for Q-Tip ever since I was spitting his rhymes in the halls of my high school. New schooler FloRida is in good company as these gentlemen all deserve their nominations as they represent more than 40 years of combined creativity and longevity in the game.

The GRAMMY got it right. With this year’s nominees, there’s no way they could go wrong.