On Tuesday, the Recording Academy announced the nominees for the 2018 Grammy Awards and this year’s ceremony is set to be pretty diverse.
The major categories: Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year are dominated by Black artists.
JAY-Z leads with eight nominations and will face off against Kendrick Lamar and Bruno Mars for Record and Album of the Year. Jay will also go head-to-head with Mars for Song of the Year. SZA, who earned five nomations, and Khalid will go toe-to-toe for Best New Artist.
And, while the competition in these categories will be fierce, the rap category is another to keep an eye on.
With two nominations, Cardi B is shaking up the category. Her hit song, “Bodak Yellow,” earned nominations for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance. She faces off against Kendrick and Jay in both as well as Migos and Big Sean for Best Rap Performance.
And, it will be a tight race. Cardi’s “Bodak Yellow” was a summer hit, dethroning Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” and making Cardi the first rapper to top the Billboard 100 since Lauryn Hill.
Both JAY-Z and Kendrick had released amazing music too. Jay’s 4:44 is arguably one of his most personal albums, where he goes into detail about his infidelity, examines race, and talks about his relationship with Kanye.
And, Kendrick’s DAMN. is no slouch. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and all 14 songs charted.
While the four major categories could deliver an upset, the rap categories will be a tight race with a winner everyone can likely get behind.