With six nominations, including one after his death, Tupac Shakur never won a Grammy. He lost his first nominations in 1995 to Coolio and Naughty by Nature and lost his posthumous nomination to Eminem.
Rappers Busta Rhymes and Tupac both have at least one nomination but zero wins.
First, Nicki responded to a fan on Twitter who wondered why she had never won a Grammy. Then, the multi-talented rapper addressed it on an episode of Queen Radio. Nicki went on to say that she was bullied by the Grammys and by Ken in particular. She also explained why she didn't want to call off the Grammy performance.
Most Grammys won by a rapper
Jay-Z and Kanye West, each with 24 awards, have won more Grammy Awards than any other rapper. Lauryn Hill is the most awarded female rapper, with eight Grammy Awards.
As Billboard continues to highlight music achievements throughout Black History Month, today we're highlighting Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff winning the first rap GRAMMY in 1989 and why they boycotted the ceremony.
Chance The Rapper earned the first three GRAMMYs of his career at the 59th GRAMMY Awards, including Best New Artist. He made his GRAMMY stage debut that same year, performing a medley of "How Great" and "All We Got" alongside GRAMMY winners Kirk Franklin and Tamela Mann.
American rapper and songwriter Cardi B is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Grammy Award, six American Music Awards, eight Billboard Music Awards, six BET Awards, fourteen BET Hip Hop Awards, four iHeartRadio Music Awards, two MTV Europe Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, six Soul Train Music Awards ...
Last year, Drake earned a pair of Grammy nominations in the rap categories, but he later asked the Recording Academy to rescind them, as he apparently wasn't interested in the recognition.
The reason Cardi B didn't attend this year's Grammys is fairly simple: “I'm not going to a [sic] award [show] if I don't got a new song to perform or my album ain't out… Next year,” Cardi shared on social media, per Billboard.
Sinead O'Connor has always been an artist who refuses to beat to the sound of anyone else's drum. The Irish singer is a maverick in the truest sense of the word, and O'Connor proved this in 1991 when she turned down an award from the Grammys.
Beyoncé has broken the record for most lifetime Grammy wins with 32. With her victories tonight for dance/electronic music recording, traditional R&B performance, best R&B song and dance/electronic music album, Beyonce surpassed the late classical conductor Georg Solti, who won 31 Grammys.
Cardi B has won one Grammy Award and has eight nominations under her belt, while Nicki has been nominated for 10 Grammy Awards but has yet to win. After Wiz seemed to throw shade her way, Cardi exposed the artist by sharing screenshots of apparent DMs from Wiz from 2016.
Ice Cube
Amazingly, the “It Was A Good Day” rapper has never been nominated for a single Grammy in his entire career.
She was the first lead artist to top the Billboard Global 200. Her accolades include a Grammy Award, eight Billboard Music Awards, six Guinness World Records, six American Music Awards, 14 BET Hip Hop Awards, and two ASCAP Songwriter of the Year awards.
Jay-Z – 24 Grammy Awards
Jay-Z is undoubtedly one of the most decorated hip hop artists of all time, with a whopping 24 Grammy Awards to his name. He won his first award back in 1999 for Best Rap Album with Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life and has been a constant presence at the ceremony ever since.
The trophy depicts a gilded gramophone. After the 2022 Grammy Awards, Kanye West has accumulated 24 wins and 75 nominations, putting him in sixth place tied with Jay-Z. Since the 2005 ceremony, he has earned a nomination at every ceremony except for 2007 and 2018.
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Lil Wayne has won five from twenty-six nominations.
Despite being nominated for 10 Grammy Awards throughout her career, Nicki Minaj has yet to win a single trophy in what many would call a real shame. While she has been recognized in the rap fields and a few major categories with nods throughout the years, voters have consistently chosen other artists over her.
Although nominated 10 times for the prestigious award throughout her career, Minaj has never actually taken home a Grammy.
Currently tied with Kanye West, Jay Z holds the distinction of rapper with the most GRAMMY wins in history. He made his GRAMMY performance debut at the 48th GRAMMY Awards in 2006 when he teamed with Linkin Park and Paul McCartney for a medley of "Numb/Encore" and "Yesterday."
Kendrick Lamar
Next on our list is the artist Kendrick Lamar, who has 17 Grammy Awards including Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance in 2015 for I.
As of 2023, Eminem holds the record for the most wins in this category, with six. Lauryn Hill was the first female artist to win in this category, when she won in 1997 with the Fugees.