Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorApart from the shocking shutout of The Weeknd from all 2021 Grammy nominations, the hip-hop and R&B categories have arguably been the most controversial and criticized in the 2021 slate.
At a time when hip-hop is the most popular and influential genre and R&B is a field of wide-ranging innovation, the nominees are a puzzling mix of safe (John Legend, Chloe X Halle, Beyonce’s annual nods), relatively obscure (Mykal Kilgore, Yebba) and rather inexplicable — and some of the categories themselves are confusingly if not questionably defined.Insiders tell Variety the Best Rap Song lineup is strong — with Roddy Ricch, Drake, DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion and Lil Baby’s incisive “The Bigger Picture,” it’s a combination.
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