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Breaking down the contenders for Rap album of the year

After a down year in rap in 2020, this year’s albums nominated for Grammy Rap Album of the year are all worthy of a win.

Each artist nominated -J. Cole, Tyler the Creator, Donda and Nas- all had highly ambitious albums that could have all easily won the category.

J. Cole came back after a disappointing KOD with his 2021 drop The Off-Season. Cole was back with his typical lyricism, but with a much hungrier approach as he looks to wrap up his career in the near future.

Tyler’s seventh studio album ‘Call me if you Get Lost’ sees the once-controversial artist go back to his roots. After back-to-back albums that focused on singing and melodies, Tyler is back to the basics of raps with a new twists. Tyler’s foray into the melodic side of music came with improvements to his rap game. CMIYGL stands as a very diverse style that sees Tyler flip between his diverse styles.

The oft controversial West left fans waiting for months for the highly anticipated album Donda. The wait proved to be worth it as West returned to his hit-making abilities with songs like Hurricane, Jail and Off the Grid.

Nas returned to the rap scene this summer with King’s Disease II. Reminiscent of the album that catapulted into the mainstream, Illmatic, Nas returned to form to produce a highly enjoyable album.

Tyler the Creator: From rap menace to icon.

If you look back at Tyler the Creator’s career 10 years ago few would have guessed he has built his platform like he has.

Tyler’s first two offerings Bastard and Goblin were fully of sexually explicit and graphically violent lyrics. These lyrics quickly made Tyler a member of the media as he was quickly one of the first celebrities to be ‘canceled.’

In those early days Tyler would be surrounded with controversy. From riots at his concert leading to his arrest or to his ban from New Zealand kittle was being said positively about the up and coming rapper.

Tyler’s image would slowly start to change in the coming years. His next string of releases Wolf and Cherry Bomb were a more laid back sound than fans were used to hearing.

During this time people still could not get past the initial impression they had made from his negative media coverage. But in actuality Tyler was moving away from crude lyrics and moving to a production focused approach with a greater emphasis on story telling.

When Tyler dropped Cherry Bomb he gave a peak into what was to come. With this album he gave fans a more digestible sound that was built around samples and synths.

Tyler would finally make it to the main stream with his 2017 release Flower Boy. This album finally showed the public that he wasn’t the same Tyler that was eating cockroaches in music videos and using shock lyrics to story tell.

Flower Boy success led the way for Tyler’s ground breaking Igor.

If Flower Boy brought Tyler into the main stream Igor firmly cemented his place as a heavy hitter of the rap game. The 2019 offering earned his first Grammy win for best rap album of the year.

This year Tyler dropped Call me if you get lost once again earning him a Grammy nomination. Tyler looks to bag his second in as many album dropping but will have tough competition to face going against Nas, J Cole and Ye.

But CMIYGL should be considered one of the favorites. Tyler was able to bridge the gap from his early fans that preferred his rap with his fans of his newer melodic sound. CMIYGL saw Tyler return to a hard rapping style but keep the unique production he has become known for on Flower Boy and Igor.

Ten years ago many might have guess that Tyler would not be here today. But a combination of adaption and growth has put Tyler in the upper echelon of the rap game.

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