Kendrick Lamar, Leon Thomas And Others Are Among The Nominees For The 2026 Grammy Awards In The Rap And R&B Categories

The Recording Academy publicly announced the nominees for the 2026 Grammy Awards on Friday, November 7, at 11 a.m. ET, with Kendrick Lamar, Leon Thomas, and Clipse being among the most-nominated artists in the Hip Hop and R&B categories.

Lamar topped the nominees after winning five Grammy Awards for “Not Like Us” in February, and he now leads with a total of nine nominations, which include Album of the Year for GNX. Additionally, Clipse’s “Let God Sort Em Out” received five nominations in total. They were tied with Doechii, Sounwave, SZA and Tyler, The Creator, each of whom received five.

In the Best Rap Album category, a few well-known favorites emerged, including Tyler’s CHROMAKOPIA, Let God Sort Em Out, and GNX. Completing the list are GloRilla’s GLORIOUS and JID’s God Does Like Ugly.

Leon Thomas, who is the sole R&B artist nominated for Best New Artist, received a nod for MUTT along with GIVĒON’s BELOVED, Coco Jones’ Why Not Me?, Ledisi’s The Crown and Teyana Taylor’s Escape Room.

Top Dawg Entertainment secured two major nominations, one in the Record of the Year category and the other in the Song of the Year category, for Doechii’s “Anxiety” and Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther.” It spent 13 consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, which likely translates into several awards in February.

“These nominees represent the breadth and diversity of the current music scene, ranging from up-and-coming artists to highly regarded musicians, and I look forward to honouring them in the weeks leading up to music’s most prestigious award ceremony,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. stated.

The upcoming Grammy Awards will broadcast live from Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on CBS and Paramount+ on February 1, 2026. Below, see the full list for rap and R&B nominations, along with the six overall categories.

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”