With the 55th Grammys only a week and a half away, predictions of this year's big winners are already hitting the blogosphere. Everyone believes that they are right, and everyone has their own bias opinion as to why. Come the morning after, the Grammys are blasted and scrutinized for getting it all wrong and being completely and utterly unjust. But what about the first round of the Grammys? What if they got the nominations wrong? What if a deserving artist never even got the chance to compete?
This year's nomination list for 'Best Rap Album' includes big names like Drake and Nas, but what about the little guys, who don't have the fan base or the clout to debut at #1 and sell over 630,000 copies like Drake's Take Care? The same day Take Care was released for instance, so was Childish Gambino's Camp, an ambitious, deserving release from a young rapper who was overshadowed by Drake's colossal presence in the industry.
People say that rap had a relatively quiet year, but that can only be said when considering the big guns. Rap saw an incredible number of new emerging artists this year, like Joey Bada$$ and The Underachievers, that have been overlooked due to their small, yet exponentially growing pockets of popularity. They say that album sales don't matter, but popularity is necessary in getting nominations. Even the less known nominee Lupe Fiasco is backed by major producers like Kanye West. Fiasco is nominated for his album Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1.
The nominations also overlooked Common's mellow and soulful album Dreamer/Believer and the young Mac Miller's Blue Side Park. In his opening week, Miller rocked a number one debut from his first album while signed to an independent record label, but the Grammy board paid no attention, despite its underground success and impressive production.
It's important to remember while watching the Grammys on Feb. 10 that there are plenty of deserving artists who were not recognized not because of their talent, determination, or abilities, but because at events like the Grammys can be popularity contests. And while the masses complain about who got robbed at the award ceremony, just think of the poor little guys who missed out on the chance to compete. Better luck next year gang.