The rap genre, despite its lack of mainstream dominance this year, still has a lot of strong submissions for the 2026 Grammys. The tail end of 2024 and the first 75% of 2025 are littered with standout projects, songs, and music videos. Overall, there should be some tight races for each award when the finalists are set.
We already heard about Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR and Kendrick Lamar's entries earlier this week and they have large lists. For the duo, they have confidence in $ome $exy $ongs 4 U and two of its cuts, "SOMEBODY LOVES ME" and "SOMETHING ABOUT YOU," to perform well. Categories include Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, and more.
For Kendrick, he's submitted six songs, including "GOOD CREDIT," "30 For 30," and "luther," among others. He's also putting GNX up for consideration in Album of the Year, Best Rap Album, and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.
But even though the Compton rapper has 22 wins and the Toronto native 5 with 55 nominations, there are others looking to run the table. Notable names are Tyler, The Creator, Clipse, Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, JID, Cardi B, and Offset. A full chart can be found here thanks to Rating Games Music.
When Are The 2026 Grammys?
Tyler and Clipse have especially solid chances given their magnitudes. Moreover, in the case of the latter, they have incredibly well executed comeback. As caught by Kurrco, both acts have tremendous material and are gunning for more than 10 categories each.
The California multi-talent is putting material from CHROMAKOPIA and DON'T TAP THE GLASS up for consideration. Given the latter's pop-leaning sound, he's taking a crack at Best Pop Solo Performance with "Ring Ring Ring." Moreover, he's looking to win Best Alternative Music Album with the 10-track LP.
As for Clipse, Album of the Year and Best Rap Album are very realistic categories for them to take. "The Bird's Don't Sing," "So Be It," and "Chains & Whips," will potentially compete for Best Rap Song, Best Music Video, Record of the Year, and more.
Lastly, for strictly Best Rap Album, Complex reports that MUSIC, God Does Like Ugly, Take Care by BigX, More Chaos, and JACKBOYS 2 are other options. Every artist that has applied will learn where they stand on November 7. The 68th Grammy Awards themselves will take place on February 1, 2026.
