Key Takeaways:
- Kendrick Lamar leads the 2026 Grammy Award nominations with nine nods, including Album of the Year for GNX.
- Clipse, Doechii and Tyler, The Creator each earned five nominations.
- Leon Thomas is the only R&B act nominated for Best New Artist, also scoring a Best R&B Album nod for MUTT.
The Recording Academy unveiled their 2026 Grammy Award nominations on Friday (Nov. 7) at 11 a.m. ET, with Kendrick Lamar, Leon Thomas and Clipse being among the most-nominated Hip Hop and R&B nominees.
After sweeping five Grammy Awards for “Not Like Us” back in February, Lamar leads all nominees with a total of nine nods, including Album of the Year for GNX. Also in that category is Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out, which earned the rap duo five nominations overall. They tied Doechii, Sounwave, SZA and Tyler, The Creator, who also received five each.
In the Best Rap Album category, a few familiar favorites surfaced, including Tyler’s CHROMAKOPIA, Let God Sort Em Out, and GNX. Rounding out the category are GloRilla’s GLORIOUS and JID’s God Does Like Ugly.
For Best R&B Album, Leon Thomas — who also happens to be the only R&B act nominated for Best New Artist — earned a nod for MUTT alongside GIVĒON’s BELOVED, Coco Jones’ Why Not More?, Ledisi’s The Crown and Teyana Taylor’s Escape Room.
In the main categories, Top Dawg Entertainment scored two major nominations for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year: Doechii’s “Anxiety” and Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “luther.” The latter topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 13 consecutive weeks, so hopefully that translates into a few awards come February.
“From emerging talent to influential icons, these nominees reflect today’s broad and diverse musical landscape, and I am excited to celebrate them in the coming weeks ahead and on music’s biggest night,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. shared in a statement.
The forthcoming Grammy Awards will air live at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena via CBS and Paramount+ on Feb. 1, 2026. In the meantime, see the full list of nominations for rap and R&B, as well as the six general categories, below.
Album of the Year
Bad Bunny – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
Justin Bieber – SWAG
Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
Lady Gaga – MAYHEM
Kendrick Lamar – GNX
Leon Thomas – MUTT
Tyler, the Creator – CHROMAKOPIA
Record of the Year
Bad Bunny – “DtMF”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Doechii – “Anxiety”
Billie Eilish – “WILDFLOWER”
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
Kendrick Lamar and SZA – “luther”
Chappell Roan – “The Subway”
ROSÉ and Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Song of the Year
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
Doechii – “Anxiety”
ROSÉ and Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Bad Bunny – “DtMF”
HUNTR/X – “Golden”
Kendrick Lamar and SZA – “luther”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Billie Eilish – “WILDFLOWER”
Best New Artist
Olivia Dean
KATSEYE
The Marías
Addison Rae
Sombr
Leon Thomas
Alex Warren
Lola Young
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Dan Auerbach
Cirkut
Dijon
Blake Mills
Sounwave
Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical
Amy Allen
Edgar Barrera
Jessie Jo Dillon
Tobias Jesso Jr.
Laura Veltz
Best Rap Album
Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
GloRilla – GLORIOUS
JID – God Does Like Ugly
Kendrick Lamar – GNX
Tyler, The Creator – CHROMAKOPIA
Best Rap Song
Doechii – “Anxiety”
Clipse, John Legend and Voices of Fire – “The Birds Don’t Sing”
Tyler, The Creator; GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne – “Sticky”
GloRilla – “TGIF”
Kendrick Lamar and Lefty Gunplay – “tv off”
Best Rap Performance
Cardi B – “Outside”
Clipse, Pharrell Williams and Kendrick Lamar – “Chains & Whips”
Doechii – “Anxiety”
Kendrick Lamar and Lefty Gunplay – “tv off”
Tyler, The Creator and Teezo Touchdown – “Darling, I”
Best Melodic Rap Performance
Fridayy and Meek Mill – “Proud Of Me”
JID, Ty Dolla $ign and 6LACK – “Wholeheartedly”
Kendrick Lamar and SZA – “luther”
Terrace Martin, Kenyon Dixon and Rapsody – “WeMaj”
Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR – “SOMEBODY LOVES ME”
Best R&B Album
GIVĒON – BELOVED
Coco Jones – Why Not More?
Ledisi – The Crown
Teyana Taylor – Escape Room
Leon Thomas – MUTT
Best R&B Song
Kehlani – “Folded”
Summer Walker – “Heart Of A Woman”
Chris Brown and Bryson Tiller – “It Depends”
Durand Bernarr – “Overqualified”
Leon Thomas – “YES IT IS”
Best R&B Performance
Juustin Bieber – “YUKON”
Chris Brown and Bryson Tiller – “It Depends”
Kehlani – “Folded”
Leon Thomas – “MUTT (Live From NPR’s Tiny Desk)”
Summer Walker – “Heart Of A Woman”
Best Traditional R&B Performance
Durand Bernarr– “Here We Are”
Lalah Hathaway – “UPTOWN”
Ledisi – “LOVE YOU TOO”
SZA – “Crybaby”
Leon Thomas – “VIBES DON’T LIE”
Best African Music Performance
Burna Boy – “Love”
Davido and Omah Lay – “With You”
Eddy Kenzo and Mehran Matin – “Hope & Love”
Ayra Starr and Wizkid – “Gimme Dat”
Tyla – “PUSH 2 START”
Best Music Video
Sade – “Young Lion”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Clipse – “So Be It”
Doechii – “Anxiety”
OK Go – “Love”