Jay-Z is the leader of the 2018 Grammy Award nominations in a year where the top four categories are heavily dominated by rap and R&B artists, giving the often-overlooked genres a strong chance of winning big.
The Recording Academy announced Tuesday that Jay-Z is nominated for eight honors, including album, song, and record of the year. Bruno Mars is also nominated for the big three, while Kendrick Lamar — who earned seven nominations — and Childish Gambino are also up for major awards.
Jay-Z’s personal and revealing album, “4:44,” is nominated for album of the year alongside Mars’ ’90s-inspired R&B adventure “24K Magic,” Lamar’s hard-hitting rap masterpiece “DAMN.,” Gambino’s funk-soul project “Awaken My Love!” and Lorde’s critically acclaimed pop album, “Melodrama.”
Record of the year nominees include Jay-Z’s “The Story of O.J.,” a song about blackness and managing money that also references O.J. Simpson; Mars’ Top 5 hit, “24K Magic”; Lamar’s No. 1 smash, “Humble”; Gambino’s “Redbone,” which peaked at No. 12 on the Hot 100; and the year’s biggest hit, “Despacito,” by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber.
“Despacito” is also nominated for song of the year — a songwriter’s award — along with Mars’ No. 1 hit, “That’s What I Like”; the title track from Jay-Z’s “4:44”; rapper Logic’s suicide prevention anthem, “1-800-273-8255”; and “Issues” by Julia Michaels, the singer who has written hits for Bieber, Selena Gomez and other pop stars.
Michaels is also nominated for best new artist, where R&B and rap rule again: Her competition includes singers SZA, Khalid and Alessia Cara, as well as rapper Lil Uzi Vert.
No rock or country acts were nominated in the top four categories. The rap- and R&B-heavy nominations, which include numerous black and Latino artists, come after the Grammys were criticized earlier this year when some felt Beyonce’s multi-genre “Lemonade” album should have won album of the year over Adele’s “25.” Adele also expressed that Beyonce should have received the prize.
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