At the request of Drake himself, the two Grammy nominations that he received have been removed from the list. The Canadian rapper has complained about the Recording Academy more often in recent years, especially that hip-hop has never been rewarded in any of the big four categories.

 

The relationship between the Grammy Awards and Drake was already not going well, but the Canadian rapper now seems to be aiming for a permanent divorce. Yesterday, Drake announced that he was opting out of being a nominee for the major US music awards in January next year. In whatever category, Drake won’t accept him whatever award he wins.

It has been years between Drake and the Recording Academy, the organizer of the Grammys. Initially, the disagreement seemed to have arisen mainly due to the meagre number of awards that Drake was allowed to take home after the annual awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Drake was narrowly nominated but only won four Grammys. Much less than American colleagues such as Kendrick Lamar (13 Grammys), Eminem (15), Kanye West (22) and Jay-Z (23). That’s remarkable, given the Canadian’s continued popularity for years: Drake is one of the most streamed artists worldwide.

Drake has often complained about the Recording Academy’s pricing practice in recent years, especially its division into categories. For example, Drake finds it incomprehensible that broken. Thus highly influential hip-hop albums and tracks, like his, have never been awarded a Grammy in one of the big four categories: recording of the year, song of the year, best album and best new artist.

Drake has consistently won prizes in the less prominent hip-hop categories and was nominated for best rap album with his album Certified Lover Boy and his song Way 2 Sexy for best rap performance.

According to Drake, the Recording Academy refuses to recognize that hip-hop has had the most significant impact on the music industry in recent years. The listening figures prove him right: Drake has a long list of sales and streaming records to his name.

Last year, the Canadian was angry that his compatriot The Weeknd did not receive a single nomination after his gigantic world hit Blinding Lights. “We should no longer be shocked by these nominations, but just accept that the organization does not see what music impresses,” Drake wrote on his social media. He also hinted at a new and fairer music price. “It is time for someone to start something new that will benefit future generations.”

That gauntlet has not yet been picked up: the presentation of the Grammy Awards will soon be the most significant music prize gala in the world as usual. The Recording Academy has now accepted the refusal of troublemaker Drake: his name has already been removed from the nomination list.