The First Rapper To Win A Grammy

Many rap artists strive to make music that will create loyal fans and sell as much as possible on Itunes. Another goal for many artists, if not all, is to win one of the most prestigious awards in music. That award is none other than “The Grammy’s“. The Grammy’s to most artists is a sign of making it in the music industry and truly being appreciated for your work.

Today I will answer some of the commonly asked questions about the Grammy’s, to give better insight on how artists become winners of the award.

What Is A Grammy Award

A Grammy Award, or Grammy, is an award given by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement within the music industry. It is given to those who have performed any sort of sound recording. These can be speakers, artists, musicians and poets that have professionally recorded either their voices or instruments for the public to hear.

How Do You Get Nominated For A Grammy

There are a lot of misconceptions about how an artist wins a Grammy. But the truth is that The Recording Academy receives over 20,000 entries per year.

Entries are recordings submitted for GRAMMY consideration. Entries that meet all eligibility requirements are then voted on by The Academy’s Voting Members, and the results of that vote are the nominations.

What Genres Are Included In Grammy Awards

There are several genres that are included in the grammy’s, and they are as follows:

Rap
Pop
Reggae
Dance/Electronic
Folk
Country
Rock
Alternative
R&B
New Age
Jazz
Gospel
Latin
American Roots
World Music
Children’s
Spoken Word
Comedy
Musical Theater
Composing
Arranging
Music For Visual Media
Packaging
Notes
Historical
Engineered Album
Producer
Remixer
Surround Sound
Classical
Music Video/Film

The First Rapper To Win A Grammy

The very first rapper to ever win a Grammy was none other than Philadelphia’s own Will Smith.

On February 22nd at the 31st Grammy Awards, the first ever award for Best Rap Performance was given to DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. The award was given to Will & Jazz for their hit single “Parents Just Don’t Understand.”

The reason why Will’s DJ Jazz was mentioned because back then in hip hop the DJ played an important role in a rapper’s career. The Dj was the backbone of an artist, so Jazz deserved that award along with Will Smith.

Sort of like how Eric B and Rakim made millions of dollars together as a rap team. Now a days a rapper can blow up without a Dj or record deal. Yes, times have changed greatly!

Rap Artists With The Most Grammy’s

This category is tied between a duo that has made remarkable music together for over a decade now. The rapper’s I’m talking about are both Kanye West and Jay-Z. They both have 21 Grammy’s each which makes them both the two rapper’s with the most Grammy’s.

Since 2005 Kanye West has been nominated every year (bar 2007), overall receiving 57 nominations for his work as an artist and producer. That’s phenomenal!

As stated above Mr. West has won 21 Grammy’s and is the second most successful producer at the Grammy’s after Quincy Jones.

Along side Kanye West Jay Z has also won 21 Grammy’s. Jay-Z’s first nomination was back in 1999 for Hard Knock Life, Vol 2. Which was up for the category of Best Rap Album (and he won!). He has also won two Grammy’s alongside his wife and R&B superstar Beyonce for their track ‘Drunk In Love.’

Our runner up is none other than Eminem, who has been nominated 44 times for a Grammy. Six being for Best Rap Album, as well as ‘The Marshall Mathers’ LP and ‘Recovery’ being nominated for Album of the Year (which ‘Recovery’ went on to win). Overall the rapper has won 15 Grammy’s. Not bad at all.

Rapper’s Who Have Never Won a Grammy

Tupac, Nas, Snoop Dog, Notorious BIG, DMX, Rakim, Busta Rhymes, Run DMC, Ice Cube. Just to name a few. On a side note also reggae legend Bob Marley has never won a Grammy!! The Grammy’s didn’t even add a reggae category until 4 years after Bob Marley’s death. Sad but true.

And even more sad is that these rap legends on the list have never won. I mean these guys basically pushed hip hop to where it is now and haven’t received their just due in the form of what some call the most prestigious music award.