Drake and his management have requested that his two Grammy nominations for 2022 be withdrawn, and the Academy obliged.
Drake was nominated for Best Rap Album, for Certified Lover Boy, and Best Rap Performance, for “Way 2 Sexy” (featuring Future and Young Thug).
Many people are speculating that Drake’s decision to pull his Grammy noms has something to do with his name being linked to Astroworld lawsuits.
But, Drake has had some spicy words for the Grammy Academy for years now.
Last year, after The Weeknd got snubbed, Drake called for the Grammys to be replaced with “something new that we can build up over time and pass on to the generations to come.”
He also took to his IG story to expound:
I think we should stop allowing ourselves to be shocked every year by the disconnect between impactful music and these awards and just accept that what once was the highest form of recognition may no longer matter to the artist that exist now and the ones that come after.
It’s like a relative you keep expecting to fix up but they just won’t change their ways. The other day I said @theweeknd was a lock for either album or song of the year along with countless other reasonable assumptions and it just never goes that way. This is a great time for somebody to start something new that we can build up overtime and pass on to the generations to come.
In 2019, when “God’s Plan” won for Best Rap Song, show producers cut Drake’s mic after he implied awards hold no value.
We play an opinion-based sport, not a factual-based sport.
You already won if you have people singing your songs word for word, if they’re singing in your hometown.
You’re already winning, you don’t need this right here.
In 2018, when Jay-Z was nominated for eight Grammys but didn’t win any, Drake did not submit his More Life album even though it qualified.
Drake has a total of four Grammys out of 49 nominations so his frustration is understandable.
I respect Drake’s decision to stop valuing an award that doesn’t value the culture.
Source: Variety
