Grammy Award for Best Rap Album

The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards.^[1] Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".^[2]

Grammy Award for Best Rap Album
Alligator Bites Never Heal by Doechii is the most recent recipient
Awarded for	Quality albums with rapping
Country	United States
Presented by	National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
First award	1996
Currently held by	Doechii – Alligator Bites Never Heal (2025)
Most wins	Eminem (6)
Most nominations	Jay-Z (11)
Website	grammy.com

In 1995, the Academy announced the addition of the award category Best Rap Album.^[3] The first award was presented to the group Naughty by Nature at the 38th Grammy Awards the following year. According to the category description guide for the 52nd Grammy Awards, the award is presented for "albums containing at least 51% playing time of tracks with newly recorded rapped performances".^[4] Award recipients often include the producers, engineers, and/or mixers associated with the nominated work in addition to the recording artists.^[5]

As of 2025, 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. The duo Outkast and rapper Tyler, The Creator have both received the award twice. Jay-Z holds the record for the most nominations, with eleven. Drake became the first non-American winner in this category when he won in 2013. The Roots have received the most nominations without a win, with five. Eminem and Kanye West are the only artists to win the award in consecutive years, with Eminem achieving the feat twice. In 2016, Drake's If You're Reading This It's Too Late became the first mixtape to get nominated for the award, and in 2017, Chance the Rapper's Coloring Book became the first mixtape to win the award. Cardi B became the first solo female rapper to win for Invasion of Privacy.^[6]

Recipients

1998 winner Sean Combs (credited as Puff Daddy), performing in 2010

Six-time award winner Eminem, performing in 2014

Four-time award winner Kanye West

2007 award winner Ludacris

2009 award winner Lil Wayne

2013 award winner Drake

Three-time award winner Kendrick Lamar

2019 award winner Cardi B, the first solo female rapper to win the award

Year[I]	Recipient(s)	Work	Nominees	Ref.
1996	Naughty by Nature	Poverty's Paradise	2Pac – Me Against the World Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal Ol' Dirty Bastard – Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version Skee-Lo – I Wish	[7]
1997	Fugees  · Fugees, producers	The Score	2Pac – All Eyez On Me A Tribe Called Quest – Beats, Rhymes and Life Coolio – Gangsta's Paradise LL Cool J – Mr. Smith	[8]
1998	Puff Daddy and the Family  · Puff Daddy And The Family & Stevie J. producers	No Way Out	Missy Elliott – Supa Dupa Fly Wyclef Jean – Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival The Notorious B.I.G. – Life After Death Wu-Tang Clan – Wu-Tang Forever	[9]
1999	Jay-Z  · Joe Quinde, engineer/mixer	Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life	A Tribe Called Quest – The Love Movement Big Punisher – Capital Punishment Jermaine Dupri – Life in 1472 Mase – Harlem World	[10]
2000	Eminem  · Eminem, Jeff Bass & Marky Bass, producers; Mr. B, engineer/mixer	The Slim Shady LP	Busta Rhymes – E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front Missy Elliott – Da Real World Nas – I Am... The Roots – Things Fall Apart	[11]
2001	Eminem  · Dr. Dre & Richard Huredia, engineers/mixers	The Marshall Mathers LP	DMX – ...And Then There Was X Dr. Dre – 2001 Jay-Z – Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter Nelly – Country Grammar	[12]
2002	Outkast  · David Sheats, producer; John Frye, engineer	Stankonia	Eve – Scorpion Ja Rule – Pain Is Love Jay-Z – The Blueprint Ludacris – Back for the First Time	[13]
2003	Eminem  · Steve King, engineer/mixer	The Eminem Show	Ludacris – Word of Mouf Mystikal – Tarantula Nelly – Nellyville Petey Pablo – Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry	[14]
2004	Outkast  · John Frye, engineer/mixer	Speakerboxxx/The Love Below	50 Cent – Get Rich or Die Tryin' Missy Elliott – Under Construction Jay-Z – The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse The Roots – Phrenology	[15]
2005	Kanye West  · Manny Marroquin, engineer/mixer	The College Dropout	Beastie Boys – To the 5 Boroughs Jay-Z – The Black Album LL Cool J – The DEFinition Nelly – Suit	[16]
2006	Kanye West  · Kanye West & Jon Brion, producers; Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer & Tom Biller, engineers; Mike Dean, engineer/mixer	Late Registration	50 Cent – The Massacre Common – Be Missy Elliott – The Cookbook Eminem – Encore	[17]
2007	Ludacris  · Joshua Monroy & Phil Tan, engineers/mixers	Release Therapy	Lupe Fiasco – Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor Pharrell – In My Mind The Roots – Game Theory T.I. – King	[18]
2008	Kanye West  · Kanye West, producer; Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer & Mike Dean, engineers	Graduation	Common – Finding Forever Jay-Z – Kingdom Come Nas – Hip-Hop Is Dead T.I. – T.I. vs. T.I.P.	[19]
2009	Lil Wayne  · Darius "Deezle" Harrison & Fabian Marasciullo, engineers	Tha Carter III	Jay-Z – American Gangster Lupe Fiasco – Lupe Fiasco's The Cool Nas – Untitled T.I. – Paper Trail	[20]
2010	Eminem  · Andre Young, producer; Andre Young, Mauricio "Veto" Iragorri & Michael Strange, engineers/mixers	Relapse	Common – Universal Mind Control Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S. Mos Def – The Ecstatic Q-Tip – The Renaissance	[21]
2011	Eminem  · Eminem & Mike Strange, engineers/mixers	Recovery	B.o.B – B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray Drake – Thank Me Later Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3 The Roots – How I Got Over	[22]
2012	Kanye West  · Kanye West, producer; Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer, Mike Dean & Noah Goldstein, engineers/mixers	My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy	Lupe Fiasco – Lasers Jay-Z and Kanye West – Watch the Throne Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday Lil Wayne – Tha Carter IV	[23]
2013	Drake  · Noah "40" Shebib, producer; Noel "Gadget" Campbell & Noah "40" Shebib, engineers/mixers	Take Care	2 Chainz – Based on a T.R.U. Story Lupe Fiasco – Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 Nas – Life Is Good Rick Ross – God Forgives, I Don't The Roots – Undun	[24]
2014	Macklemore & Ryan Lewis  · Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, engineers/mixers	The Heist	Drake – Nothing Was the Same Jay-Z – Magna Carta Holy Grail Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.D City Kanye West – Yeezus	[25]
2015	Eminem  · Tony Campana, Joe Strange & Mike Strange, engineers/mixers	The Marshall Mathers LP 2	Iggy Azalea – The New Classic Common – Nobody's Smiling Childish Gambino – Because the Internet Wiz Khalifa – Blacc Hollywood ScHoolboy Q – Oxymoron	[26]
2016	Kendrick Lamar  · Derek "MixedByAli" Ali & James "The White Black Man" Hunt, engineers/mixers	To Pimp a Butterfly	J. Cole – 2014 Forest Hills Drive Dr. Dre – Compton Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late Nicki Minaj – The Pinkprint	[27] [28]
2017	Chance the Rapper  · Jeff Lane, engineer/mixer	Coloring Book	De La Soul – And the Anonymous Nobody... DJ Khaled – Major Key Drake – Views ScHoolboy Q – Blank Face LP Kanye West – The Life of Pablo	[29]
2018	Kendrick Lamar  · Sounwave & Anthony "Topdawg" Tiffith, producers; Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, James "The White Black Man" Hunt & Matt Schaeffer, engineers/mixers	Damn.	Jay-Z – 4:44 Migos – Culture Rapsody – Laila's Wisdom Tyler, the Creator – Flower Boy	[30] [31]
2019	Cardi B  · Leslie Brathwaite & Evan LaRay, engineers/mixers	Invasion of Privacy	Mac Miller – Swimming Nipsey Hussle – Victory Lap Pusha T – Daytona Travis Scott – Astroworld	[32]
2020	Tyler, the Creator  · Tyler, The Creator, producer; Neal H Pogue, Tyler, The Creator & Vic Wainstein, engineers/mixers	Igor	Dreamville – Revenge of the Dreamers III Meek Mill – Championships 21 Savage – I Am > I Was Cordae – The Lost Boy	[33]
2021	Nas  · Hit-Boy, producer; Mark "Exit" Goodchild, Hit-Boy, David Kim & Gabriel Zardes, engineers/mixers	King's Disease	Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist – Alfredo Royce Da 5'9" – The Allegory Jay Electronica – A Written Testimony D Smoke – Black Habits	[34]
2022	Tyler, the Creator  · Tyler, The Creator, producer; Neal H Pogue, Tyler, The Creator & Vic Wainstein, engineers/mixers	Call Me If You Get Lost	J. Cole – The Off-Season Drake – Certified Lover Boy (withdrawn)[35] Nas – King's Disease II Kanye West – Donda	[36][37]
2023	Kendrick Lamar  · Sounwave, producer; Ray Charles Brown Jr., Manny Marroquin, Matt Schaeffer & Jonathan Turner, engineers/mixers	Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers	DJ Khaled – God Did Future – I Never Liked You Jack Harlow – Come Home the Kids Miss You Pusha T – It's Almost Dry	[38][39]
2024	Killer Mike  · Migui Maloles & Renegade El Rey, engineers/mixers	Michael	Drake and 21 Savage – Her Loss Metro Boomin – Heroes & Villains Nas – King's Disease III Travis Scott – Utopia	[40]
2025	Doechii	Alligator Bites Never Heal	J. Cole – Might Delete Later Common & Pete Rock – The Auditorium Vol. 1 Eminem – The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) Future & Metro Boomin – We Don't Trust You	[41]

^{^[I]} Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.

Artists with multiple wins

6 wins Eminem 4 wins Kanye West 3 wins Kendrick Lamar 2 wins Outkast Tyler, the Creator

Artists with multiple nominations

11 nominations Jay-Z 8 nominations Kanye West Eminem 7 nominations Nas Drake 5 nominations The Roots Common 4 nominations J. Cole (1 with Dreamville) Lupe Fiasco Missy Elliott Kendrick Lamar 3 nominations Ludacris Nelly T.I. Tyler, The Creator 2 nominations Nicki Minaj Dr. Dre Lil Wayne LL Cool J 50 Cent Outkast ScHoolboy Q A Tribe Called Quest 2Pac Pusha T DJ Khaled Travis Scott 21 Savage Future Metro Boomin

See also

• Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance
• Grammy Award for Best Rap Song
• Hip hop music