The Bronx-born MC won the award
In the history of the Grammy Awards, only five artists have won the award for best rap album multiple times: Eminem (6), Kendrick Lamar (4), Ye (4), OutKast (2), and Tyler, the Creator (2). Could Cardi B become the first woman to join this narrow circle? In „Rapsody s World, God Looks a Lot Like You: There s a Power Within Us That We Haven t Tapped All the Way Into , Don Toliver talks about his collaboration with Travis Scott, his life with Kali Uchis and his ambitions to get into Rock Hall, and A$AP Rocky released the album ”DON T BE DUMB , with all 16 tracks rated, with intense competition for the award. Cardi B seems the safest choice for a nomination in this category.
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The Bronx-born MC won the award for her debut album Invasion of Privacyat the 2019 ceremony, and has since received four other nominations without achieving any further wins. With only one win from 11 career entries, it's too early to say the prize is guaranteed for Cardi, but it would be a shock if her name didn't appear on the final nomination list. Don Toliver (Octane) and A$AP Rocky (Don't Be Dumb) are in the immediate pursuit. Toliver, who topped the Billboard chart in March, reached new career highs with the Hot 100 hits Body (No. 14) and E85 (No. 15) as well as his Octane World Tour, which lasted 70 shows in the arena. He's also about to be nominated for Best New Artist, which reinforces his overall story.
For Rocky, Don't Be Dumbcompensated for the lack of cultural impact hits with a global arena tour of three continents and debuted on the Billboard 200 at number one, marking his first top performance on that chart in over a decade. None of these rappers were previously nominated in this category, and this may change by mid-November.
Artists with further chances include Isaiah Rashad
Besides these three almost guaranteed candidates, who could be competing? Baby Keem, who has already won an award for a single album from seven requests throughout his career, could receive his first nomination for the album Ca$ino , which became his highest charting album on the Billboard 200 (No. 4) and spawned a top rap single, Good Flirts , alongside Kendrick Lamar and Momo Boyd. Rapsody, who won for the first time in 2025 and was previously nominated for Laila s Wisdom in 2018, could also be included in the final list with his ambitious and acclaimed album God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops . Wale scored a hit on the radio with Watching Us , backed by Leon Thomas, and that attention, combined with the positive reviews of his album Everything Is A Lot , could get him his first Grammy nomination in over a decade. There's also T.
I., with the album Kill the King , which features Let Em Know , a Hot 100 top 40 hit that brought him a late-career radio smash. T. I. received three consecutive nominations in this category between 2007 and 2009, never winning. Could it be the year he makes a grand comeback?
Artists with further chances include Isaiah Rashad (It s Been Awful ), Tierra Whack (Whack s Museum ), Dave (The Boy Who Played the Harp ) and Ken Carson (Experiment ). The oldest in the field that the Recording Academy loves to honor include Nas for King s Disease in 2021 and Killer Mike for Michael in 2024. In addition, there are a few albums that could fit this category this year, such as Dillagence II by Busta Rhymes & J Dilla, Infinite by Mobb Deep, Cabin in the Sky by De La Soul, Light-Years by Nas & DJ Premier, Clef Notes - Quantum Leap, Vol. 1 by Wyclef Jean and Dem Goats by Juicy J & Project Pat. Finally, Ye is signed to the album Bully (Deluxe) . The controversial criminal, formerly known as Kanye West, has taken significant steps to rebuild his career this year.
The beginning of the year was marked by a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal, in which he apologized for his previous anti-Semitic comments, and then released the album Bully and played a series of concerts at stadiums around the world, presenting a strong argument for the Recording Academy to give him a nomination. It's not to be overlooked that the Grammys didn't completely abandon Ye; he won three Grammy Awards out of seven nominations in the 2020s alone.
Our bold prediction: which rap albums will make the final top five?