Despite being nominated for two Grammy Awards this year, Drake is pulling himself out of contention for the music industry’s biggest prize.
According to Variety, the Recording Academy confirmed that the Canadian artist has withdrawn his nominations for Best Rap Album for Certified Lover Boy and Best Rap Performance for “Way 2 Sexy” featuring Future and Young Thug.
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The motivation for Drake pulling his Grammy nods is unclear, but the Academy will keep both categories at four nominees, rather than extending a nod to the recipients of the sixth-most votes.
In the past, Drake has had a complicated relationship with the Grammys, calling in 2020 for the awards to be replaced with “something new that we can build up over time and pass on to the generations to come” after fellow Canadian artist The Weeknd failed to receive any nods.
“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 artist that exist now and the ones that come after,” Drake said at the time.
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In 2017, Drake declined to submit his album More Life for Grammy consideration, and in 2019, accepting the Grammy for Best Rap Song for “God’s Plan”, he said, “We play an opinion-based sport, not a factual-based sport. You already won if you have people singing your songs word for word, if they’re singing in your hometown. You’re already winning, you don’t need this right here.”
A source told ET Canada: “It was a decision that Drake and management made. The Grammys honoured his ask.”
