Another year, another Hip Hop Grammys thread…
Coming off a year that saw Hip Hop fully embrace its elder statesmen, it is no surprise that The Clipse, consisting of brothers Pusha T (Terrence Thornton) and Malice (Gene Thornton) have emerged as favorites for Grammy gold. Malice especially, at the age of 53, has been lauded for his dense, razor sharp, introspective verses across 13 pristine tracks on the duo's first album in sixteen years (4th overall) aptly titled, 'Let God Sort Em Out'. Released in July of 2025, the album was instantly hailed as a classic, marrying Pharrell's iconoclastic creativity with the brothers Thornton's lyrical depth and discipline. Together, the trio presented the idea that aging in rap could be an advantage, not a hinderance; and the Grammy voting board agreed, not only nominating them in 3 of the 4 rap categories, but also bestowing them a nomination for the prestigious Album of the Year trophy, marking the group's return as a continuing triumph for rappers in their 50's in the vein of similar Grammy acknowledgements for rap stalwarts Killer Mike (2023) and Nas (2021).
And all of this would be well and good towards pointing to a victory for Clipse, if not for one formidable fellow nominee.
Kendrick Lamar.
Having thoroughly dominated the 2025 ceremony with his searingly rambunctious Drake-diss song “Not Like Us”, rap’s reigning King Poetic returns with not only the biggest hit song of the previous year, the SZA assisted “Luther”, but also one of popular music’s biggest blockbuster albums, “GNX”. Presented as a love letter to his West Coast origins, GNX saw Kendrick basking in the glow of his triumph over his rap nemesis in the biggest rap battle in over twenty years. Both the commercial success and critical acclaim of GNX have propelled Kendrick to what some would consider the “favorite” to take home Album of The Year, ending rap music’s dismal twenty-two-year drought in the category. But as Clipse and Kendrick duke it out for Grammy glory, one shouldn’t forget the musical auteurism of Tyler The Creator, whose album Chromakopia met with widespread acclaim upon its release in October of 2024, and joins the latter two acts amongst the Album of The Year nominees.
Will Kendrick Lamar make history and become the first rapper to claim Album of The Year in addition to his previous year’s Record and Song of the Year victories? Will Clipse surprise and usurp the trophy, forever cementing the fact that rap’s legacy acts can retain relevancy as they age? Will Tyler play spoiler to both narratives and claim Grammy supremacy by way of being one of music’s most copious multi-hyphenates? Or will vote splitting pave the way for another act to claim the coveted statuette?
These questions and more will be answered Sunday, February 1st, when the 68th annual Grammy awards are telecast live from CBS and Paramount+ at 8pm ET/5PM PT.
Coming off a year that saw Hip Hop fully embrace its elder statesmen, it is no surprise that The Clipse, consisting of brothers Pusha T (Terrence Thornton) and Malice (Gene Thornton) have emerged as favorites for Grammy gold. Malice especially, at the age of 53, has been lauded for his dense, razor sharp, introspective verses across 13 pristine tracks on the duo's first album in sixteen years (4th overall) aptly titled, 'Let God Sort Em Out'. Released in July of 2025, the album was instantly hailed as a classic, marrying Pharrell's iconoclastic creativity with the brothers Thornton's lyrical depth and discipline. Together, the trio presented the idea that aging in rap could be an advantage, not a hinderance; and the Grammy voting board agreed, not only nominating them in 3 of the 4 rap categories, but also bestowing them a nomination for the prestigious Album of the Year trophy, marking the group's return as a continuing triumph for rappers in their 50's in the vein of similar Grammy acknowledgements for rap stalwarts Killer Mike (2023) and Nas (2021).
And all of this would be well and good towards pointing to a victory for Clipse, if not for one formidable fellow nominee.
Kendrick Lamar.
Having thoroughly dominated the 2025 ceremony with his searingly rambunctious Drake-diss song “Not Like Us”, rap’s reigning King Poetic returns with not only the biggest hit song of the previous year, the SZA assisted “Luther”, but also one of popular music’s biggest blockbuster albums, “GNX”. Presented as a love letter to his West Coast origins, GNX saw Kendrick basking in the glow of his triumph over his rap nemesis in the biggest rap battle in over twenty years. Both the commercial success and critical acclaim of GNX have propelled Kendrick to what some would consider the “favorite” to take home Album of The Year, ending rap music’s dismal twenty-two-year drought in the category. But as Clipse and Kendrick duke it out for Grammy glory, one shouldn’t forget the musical auteurism of Tyler The Creator, whose album Chromakopia met with widespread acclaim upon its release in October of 2024, and joins the latter two acts amongst the Album of The Year nominees.
Will Kendrick Lamar make history and become the first rapper to claim Album of The Year in addition to his previous year’s Record and Song of the Year victories? Will Clipse surprise and usurp the trophy, forever cementing the fact that rap’s legacy acts can retain relevancy as they age? Will Tyler play spoiler to both narratives and claim Grammy supremacy by way of being one of music’s most copious multi-hyphenates? Or will vote splitting pave the way for another act to claim the coveted statuette?
These questions and more will be answered Sunday, February 1st, when the 68th annual Grammy awards are telecast live from CBS and Paramount+ at 8pm ET/5PM PT.
I don't wanna see any bytching if they lose.
