Drake told the Grammys to “take care” as he withdrew his two Grammy nominations after being up for Best Rap Album for his sixth studio album “Certified Lover Boy,” and another for Best Rap Performance in “Way 2 Sexy” according to Variety.
Drake’s Relationship Status With The Grammys
In a past interview with Variety, a Grammy rep shared the Canadian superstar had an “estranged relationship” with the Grammys but has since reconciled.
“Drake has been estranged from the Grammys some years, but he’s been on better terms with the awards org lately, so you might have expected him to come in with hopes of a big sweep, especially in the first year in decades in which a popular vote will determine the final round of nominees, upping his chances,” said the representative. “Yet Drake seems to have had mixed feelings about how many categories to be submitted in. Maybe it’s because he didn’t have one song that was a clear favorite that he decided to sit record and song out. But “Certified Lover Boy,” which looks to surpass Morgan Wallen’s effort to become the biggest long-player of the year, is in the mix for album of the year, so it’s not like he’s boycotting the proceedings.”
It’s unclear if the rapper decided to submit his long-awaited album “Certified Lover Boy” to the other big categories, however, he did choose to submit for the two categories he recently withdrew from.
Drake Pulls Both Grammy Nominations
Earlier this afternoon, a rep for the Recording Academy told Variety the 35-year-old musician pulled his two nominations today. Sources shared with the outlet that the decision was made by Drake and his management with the Grammys respecting his decision. It’s unclear at this time what prompted him to pull his noms. He was one of the five artists nominated for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance for “Certified Lover Boy” and “Way 2 Sexy” respectively. Instead of replacing the “Take Care” musician, the Grammys have decided to move forward with only four nominees. Drake and his team declined to share a statement with the publication at this time.
Astroworld Festival Controversy Speculated To Prompt Drake’s Decision
While it hasn’t been confirmed what motivated the actor to pull out, many are speculating it may have to do with being attached to the Astroworld Festival controversy that ended up with 10 people dead with Travis Scott, Drake and others hit with two lawsuits, one for $750 Million due to negligence and the other for $2 Billion in damages. While many may lead with this assumption, he is expected to perform at Kanye West at the ‘Free Larry Hoover’ concert in LA on Dec. 9th.
Drake’s Past Comments On The Award Show
Drake is known to have a very strained relationship with the Grammys, with the rapper calling out the Recording Academy to be replaced after defending long-time collaborator The Weeknd after the ‘Blinding Lights’ artist didn’t receive any nominations from the Recording Academy for his album ‘After Hours.’
“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 artists that exist now and the ones that come after,” wrote the ‘Views’ artist. “It’s like a relative you keep expecting to fix up but they just can’t change their ways.” He continued, saying “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.”
What do you think prompted Drake to pull his nominations?
