2026 Grammy Nominations: Best Rap Album Nominees & Complete List

November 18, 2025

9 6 minutes read

The 68th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony is set for Sunday, February 1, 2026 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, airing live on CBS and Paramount+ at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT. After a legendary year in hip-hop, the Recording Academy announced nominations on November 7, 2025, with Kendrick Lamar leading all nominees with 9 nods, followed by Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff, and Cirkut with 7 each.

Grammy Best Rap Album 2026 Nominees

The Best Rap Album category for 2026 features five exceptional projects:

AlbumArtistLabelNotable TracksGNXKendrick LamarpgLang/Interscope"luther" ft. SZA, "tv off", "Good Credit"CHROMAKOPIATyler, The CreatorColumbia"Darling, I", "Sticky", "St. Chroma"Let God Sort Em OutClipse (Pusha T & Malice)Virginia"The Birds Don't Sing" ft. John LegendGLORIOUSGloRillaCMGVarious hitsGod Does Like UglyJIDDreamville"Wholeheartedly" ft. Ty Dolla $ign

Historic First: Three Albums in Both Album & Rap Album Categories

For the first time in Grammy history, three albums are nominated simultaneously in both Album of the Year and Best Rap Album:

Kendrick Lamar – GNX
Tyler, The Creator – CHROMAKOPIA
Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

This unprecedented triple overlap demonstrates hip-hop’s current cultural dominance and the Recording Academy’s evolving recognition of rap excellence.

Kendrick Lamar: Top Nominee with 9 Nominations

Kendrick Lamar enters the 2026 Grammys with 9 nominations, his highest single-year total, bringing his career total to 66 nominations with 22 wins.

Kendrick’s 2026 Nominations:

Record of the Year – “luther” with SZA
Song of the Year – “luther” with SZA
Album of the Year – GNX
Best Rap Album – GNX
Best Rap Performance – “tv off” ft. Lefty Gunplay
Best Melodic Rap Performance – “luther” with SZA
Best Rap Song – “tv off”
Additional technical and collaboration categories

Historic Context: This marks Kendrick’s fifth Album of the Year nomination for consecutive solo albums – a record for any solo artist. If he wins, he would become the first solo male rapper to win Album of the Year. The only hip-hop albums to win this category are Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1999) and Outkast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2004).

Tyler, The Creator: Veteran Contender

Tyler, The Creator’s CHROMAKOPIA marks his first Album of the Year nomination, following two previous Best Rap Album wins for Igor (2020) and Call Me If You Get Lost (2022).

Tyler’s 2026 Nominations:

Album of the Year – CHROMAKOPIA
Best Rap Album – CHROMAKOPIA
Best Rap Performance – “Darling, I” ft. Teezo Touchdown
Best Rap Song – “Sticky”
Additional categories

CHROMAKOPIA showcases Tyler’s evolution with introspective lyrics, featuring conversations between Tyler the Creator and Tyler Okonma (his real name), with appearances from his mother Bonita Smith. The album demonstrates his genre-bending versatility while maintaining hip-hop authenticity.

Clipse: Triumphant Return After 15 Years

After a 15-year hiatus, brothers Pusha T (48) and Malice (53) returned with Let God Sort Em Out, earning 5 Grammy nominations including Album of the Year and Best Rap Album.

Clipse’s 2026 Nominations:

Album of the Year – Let God Sort Em Out
Best Rap Album – Let God Sort Em Out
Record of the Year – “The Birds Don’t Sing” ft. John Legend
Song of the Year – “The Birds Don’t Sing”
Best Rap Performance – “Chains & Whips” ft. Kendrick Lamar & Pharrell

Significance: This represents Clipse’s return to Grammy consideration after earning just one nomination in their career (2003’s “Like I Love You” with Justin Timberlake). The album, produced by Pharrell Williams, features mature themes about family, loss, and legacy, proving “rap is not just a young man’s game.”

GloRilla: Female Representation

Memphis rapper GloRilla represents female excellence in the Best Rap Album category with GLORIOUS, demonstrating the Recording Academy’s increasing recognition of women in hip-hop.

Impact: GloRilla joins Cardi B and Doechii among women earning major rap nominations this year, further proving hip-hop’s depth and diversity.

JID: Dreamville’s Technical Master

Atlanta wordsmith JID earns his first Grammy nominations for solo work with God Does Like Ugly, finally receiving recognition beyond his J. Cole association.

JID’s 2026 Nominations:

Best Rap Album – God Does Like Ugly
Best Melodic Rap Performance – “Wholeheartedly” ft. Ty Dolla $ign & 6lack

His technical prowess and lyrical complexity finally gain mainstream Grammy acknowledgment.

Notable Omissions

Playboi Carti – MUSIC Despite debuting at #1 on Billboard 200 with 300,000 units and featuring Kendrick Lamar, Playboi Carti’s MUSIC was shockingly snubbed from Best Rap Album consideration. The 30-track maximalist project divided critics but dominated commercial charts.

Other Notable Absences:

Offset – KIARI
Chance the Rapper – Star Line
LL Cool J – The Force
Gunna – Various submissions

Complete Album of the Year Nominees

The top Grammy category features diverse genres:

Bad Bunny – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
Justin Bieber – SWAG
Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
Lady Gaga – MAYHEM
Kendrick Lamar – GNX
Leon Thomas – MUTT
Tyler, The Creator – CHROMAKOPIA

Historic Potential:

If Kendrick wins, he’d be the first solo male rapper with Album of the Year
If Bad Bunny wins, it would be the first all-Spanish-language album victory
No matter who wins, it will be their first Album of the Year win

Other Key Rap Categories

Performance

“Outside” – Cardi B
“Chains & Whips” – Clipse ft. Kendrick Lamar & Pharrell
“Anxiety” – Doechii
“tv off” – Kendrick Lamar ft. Lefty Gunplay
“Darling, I” – Tyler, The Creator ft. Teezo Touchdown

Best Melodic Rap Performance

“Proud Of Me” – Fridayy ft. Meek Mill
“Wholeheartedly” – JID ft. Ty Dolla $ign & 6lack
“luther” – Kendrick Lamar with SZA
“WeMaj” – Terrace Martin & Kenyon Dixon ft. Rapsody
“SOMEBODY LOVES ME” – PARTYNEXTDOOR & Drake

Best Rap Song

“Anxiety” – Doechii
“The Birds Don’t Sing” – Clipse ft. John Legend
“tv off” – Kendrick Lamar
Additional nominees

Top Nominees Beyond Rap

Lady Gaga – 7 nominations (45 career nods, 14 wins)

Album of the Year – MAYHEM
Record of the Year – “Abracadabra”
Song of the Year – “Abracadabra”

Bad Bunny – 6 nominations

Album of the Year – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
Could make history as first all-Spanish album winner

Sabrina Carpenter – 6 nominations Leon Thomas – 6 nominations

New Grammy Categories for 2026

The Recording Academy introduced two new categories:

Best Album Cover
- Nominees include Bad Bunny, Wet Leg, and others
Best Traditional Country Album
- Father-son duo among nominees
- Margo Price included

Recording Academy Evolution

The Academy announced 2,900 new voting members in the past year, with significant demographic shifts:

60% people of color
49% age 39 and under
30% identify as women
73% of current voters joined since June 2019

This diversification explains the increased recognition of hip-hop, Latin music, and diverse genres across categories.

Prediction: Who Will Win Best Rap Album?

Most Likely Winner: Kendrick Lamar – GNX

Reasons:

Strongest commercial and critical success
Cultural impact unmatched
Five consecutive Album of the Year nods (historic)
Previous Grammy momentum from 2025 sweep
New diverse voting membership favoring his style

Dark Horses:

Clipse – Comeback narrative and lyrical excellence
Tyler, The Creator – Two previous wins in category

When to Watch

Date: Sunday, February 1, 2026 Time: 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles Broadcast: CBS and Paramount+ Premium

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Conclusion

The 2026 Grammy nominations showcase hip-hop’s cultural dominance with historic firsts and unprecedented recognition. Kendrick Lamar’s 9 nominations lead the pack, while the Best Rap Album category features diverse voices from veteran comeback (Clipse), genre-bending innovation (Tyler), female representation (GloRilla), and technical mastery (JID).

With three rap albums competing for Album of the Year – a Grammy first – February 1, 2026 could mark a watershed moment for hip-hop at music’s biggest night. Whether Kendrick becomes the first solo male rapper to win the top prize or Clipse caps their comeback with victory, the 2026 Grammys promise historic moments for rap culture.

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