The Issue With The Grammys’ Best Melodic Rap Performance Category

As the calendar turns to November two events can be carved in stone; Thanksgiving and the outpouring of outrage from people who believe the academy got the Grammy nominations wrong. With Hip-Hop fans now digesting the Grammy nominations with their turkey and mac & cheese, it appears the outrage isn’t as palpable compared to recent years. Hip-Hop fans seem to have a tolerable attitude towards the Grammy nominations displaying satisfaction with the artists nominated or the reasoning for nominating artists. With things seemingly going well for the Grammys and their nominations, one category that deserves a second look is the category of Best Melodic Rap Performance.

The category of Best Melodic Rap Performance has an interesting history, originally named the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration when the category was introduced for the 2002 Grammys. The category intended to recognize tracks that demonstrated great rapping and singing throughout. Tracks like ‘Empire State of Mind’ by Jay-Z & Alicia Keys, ‘All of The Lights’ by Kanye West featuring Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie, and many other year-dominate tracks have won the award in years past. The category was then renamed to Best Rap/Sung Performance for the 2018 Grammys before once again being renamed Best Melodic Rap Performance for the 2021 Grammys.

With the renaming of the category to Best Melodic Rap Performance for the 2021 Grammys came a new criterion for the award. To show an understanding of the modern Hip-Hop field, The Grammys introduced a new criterion defined as, “solo and collaborative performances containing elements of rap and melody over modern production. This performance requires a strong and clear presence of melody combined with rap cadence, and is inclusive of dialects, lyrics, or performance elements from non-rap genres including R&B, rock, country, electronic or more. The production may include traditional elements of rap or elements characteristic of the aforementioned non-rap genres.”

With this new broad criterion in mind, one would assume that this would be a turning point for the Grammys’ understanding of Hip-Hop. For years the importance of the Grammys, along with many award shows has been in decline for a multitude of reasons. The biggest reason of all is the fact that award shows are just popularity contests that mask themselves as the pinnacle of music excellence. Operating from the mindset of most popular equating to the best music isn’t the mindset a true award show should operate from. However, because of this mindset, the Grammys have routinely displayed an out-of-touch understanding of the current state of the Hip-Hop genre.

This year’s picks once again demonstrate the philosophy that popular means better, ultimately watering down what’s thought of as the greatest achievement in all of music. Because of this, the Grammys haven’t been able to capture the authenticity of the genre, delegating their Hip-Hop decision-making to numbers and mainstream pop success. Hip-Hop has historically been a genre that rebels against the mainstream and while the genre’s recent success may appear mainstream to casual fans; those who study and pay attention to the evolution of the genre still recognize the authenticity within the genre.

The look of authenticity has grown to become more inclusive as the genre has aged, which is one of the main reasons why melodic rap has risen to be considered one of the most dominant subgenres of Hip-Hop. As Hip-Hop has grown to become the most popular genre in the country, the genre has accepted rappers branching out to incorporate other genres within their music. Additionally, the opposite has happened as well with artists from other genres incorporating Hip-Hop elements within their music to innovate their genres. Because of this, it’s understandable for people to be confused when distinguishing between Hip-Hop and other genres. However, as the pinnacle of music award shows, it’s expected that the Grammys be able to tell the difference, an expectation that has been missed year after year.

The new interpretation of the Best Melodic Rap Performance category by the Grammys should’ve opened the door for artists who’ve been looked over because they lacked the traditional Hip-Hop sound. One would think the Grammys would find a newfound appreciation for artists who toe the line between Hip-Hop and genres such as R&B or Gospel while still maintaining both feet firmly in the Hip-Hop genre like Lil Durk or Rod Wave. Artists who don’t quite fit in any boxes but transcend genres in an act of music rebellion that combine Hip-Hop with outside genres to create beautiful music. However, artists who fit the profile of what I just described are still being looked over by the Grammys in favor of their interpretation of Hip-Hop that is littered with misconceptions.

The picks for best melodic rap performance aren’t terrible, I see the appeal in selecting artists who casual music fans may know. The possibility of a statistically huge artist performing at the Grammys helping to boost ratings for the award show is increased if the artists are given extra incentive to show up.

However, as someone who is a fan of the melodic subgenre, when I sit down and think about what melodic rap song I’d like to hear, J. Cole, Lil Nas X, or Doja Cat don’t cross my mind at all. J. Cole is primarily a lyricist, and the argument can be made that Lil Nas X and Doja Cat are more primarily Pop acts instead of Hip-Hop. While J. Cole’s ‘pride.is.the.devil’ featuring Lil Baby is certainly one of the more melodic tracks in his discography, wouldn’t it make more sense for the category to highlight artists with a firm presence in melodic Hip-Hop? Additionally, just because an artist is black doesn’t mean they fit into the Rap and R&B categories or “Urban” categories as they are referred to by people out of touch with black culture.

If the goal for the Grammys with the Best Melodic Rap Performance category is to demonstrate their understanding of Hip-Hop and the multitude of subgenres that are found within the 48-year-old genre, then these nominations carry the opposite effect. The changing of the category’s criteria to opt for a broader interpretation should’ve started a trend of the academy recognizing artists who firmly reside within Hip-Hop despite their music being described as a circle peg fitting in a square hole. However, it appears the artists who continue to dominate the most melodic subgenres will continue to be looked over, not because their music doesn’t meet the criteria, but because the academy still has no clue who the most impactful artists are within the subgenres highlighted and ultimately the whole Hip-Hop genre.