Grammy award for Best Rap Album - wikipedia Grammy award for Best Rap Album Grammy Award for Best Rap Album Awarded for Quality albums with rapping Country United States Presented by National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences First awarded Last awarded 2018 Website grammy.com 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. 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 ''. In 1995, the Academy announced the addition of the award category Best Rap Album. 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 ''. Award recipients often include the producers, engineers, and / or mixers associated with the nominated work in addition to the recording artists. As of 2017, Eminem holds the record for the most wins in this category, with six. Lauryn Hill is currently the only female artist to win in this category, when she won in 1997 with the Fugees. Kanye West was presented the award four times, and the duo known as Outkast received the award twice. Jay - Z holds the record for the most nominations, with eleven, which resulted in one win. Canadian artist 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. In 2016, Drake 's If You 're Reading This It 's Too Late became the first mixtape to get nominated for the award. In 2017, Chance the Rapper 's Coloring Book became the first mixtape to win the award. Contents 1 Recipients 2 Artists with multiple wins 3 Artists with multiple nominations 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Recipients 1998 winner Sean Combs ( credited as Puff Daddy ), performing in 2006 Six - time award winner Eminem, performing in 2009 Four - time award winner Kanye West 2007 award winner, Ludacris 2009 award winner, Lil Wayne 2013 award winner, Drake Two - time award winner, Kendrick Lamar Year Recipients Work Nominees Ref. 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 2006 Kanye West Jon Brion, producer 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 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 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. 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 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 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 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 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 Do n't The Roots -- Undun 2014 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Ben Haggerty & 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 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 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 2017 Chance the Rapper 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 2018 Kendrick Lamar Damn Jay - Z -- 4 : 44 Migos -- Culture Rapsody -- Laila 's Wisdom Tyler, the Creator -- Flower Boy 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 2 wins Outkast Kendrick Lamar Artists with multiple nominations 11 nominations Jay - Z 7 nominations Eminem Kanye West 5 nominations Drake The Roots 4 nominations Common Lupe Fiasco Missy Elliott Nas 3 nominations Kendrick Lamar Ludacris Nelly T.I. 2 nominations Dr. Dre Lil Wayne LL Cool J 50 Cent Nicki Minaj Outkast ScHoolboy Q A Tribe Called Quest 2Pac See also Hip hop portal Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance Grammy Award for Best Rap Song Hip hop music References General `` Past Winners Search ''. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved March 4, 2011. Note : User must select the `` Rap '' category as the genre under the search feature. `` Grammy Awards : Best Rap Album ''. Rock on the Net. Retrieved July 30, 2010. Specific Jump up ^ `` Grammy Awards at a Glance ''. Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved April 29, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Overview ''. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2010. Jump up ^ Lambropoulos, Dinos ( May 25, 1995 ). `` Grammy Awards will stay in Los Angeles ''. The Daily Gazette. Schenectady, New York. p. C6. Retrieved October 22, 2010. Jump up ^ `` 52nd OEP Category Description Guide '' ( PDF ). National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. p. 3. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on October 27, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Grammy Award Winners ''. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on January 18, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2011. Note : User must select the `` Rap '' category as the genre under the search feature. Jump up ^ Strauss, Neil ( January 5, 1996 ). `` New Faces in Grammy Nominations ''. The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved October 22, 2010. Jump up ^ `` The Complete List of Nominees ''. Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. January 8, 1997. p. 4. Retrieved February 16, 2011. Jump up ^ Strauss, Neil ( January 7, 1998 ). `` Grammy Nominations Yield Surprises, Including Newcomer 's Success ''. The New York Times. The New York Times Company. p. 2. Retrieved October 24, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Lauryn Hill, Shania Twain, and Sheryl Crow win the most nods ''. Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. January 5, 1999. Jump up ^ `` 42nd Annual Grammy Awards nominations ''. CNN. January 4, 2000. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2010. Jump up ^ `` 43rd Grammy Awards ''. CNN. February 21, 2001. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2010. Jump up ^ Basham, David ( January 17, 2002 ). `` Got Charts ? Outkast 's Grammy Outlook ; Linkin Park Go For Gold ''. MTV. Retrieved October 24, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Grammy nominees and winners ''. CNN. February 24, 2003. Retrieved February 16, 2011. Jump up ^ Susman, Gary ( December 4, 2003 ). `` Grammylicious ''. Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved October 24, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Grammy Award nominees in top categories ''. USA Today. Gannett Company. February 7, 2005. Retrieved October 22, 2010. Jump up ^ `` The Complete List of Grammy Nominations ''. The New York Times. The New York Times Company. December 8, 2005. p. 2. Retrieved October 22, 2010. Jump up ^ `` The 2007 Grammys : Winners and Nominees ''. The New York Times. The New York Times Company. January 29, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2010. Jump up ^ Kot, Greg ( December 6, 2007 ). `` Kanye West, Amy Winehouse lead Grammy nominations ''. Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. Retrieved October 24, 2010. Jump up ^ Stout, Gene ( February 6, 2009 ). `` Grammys Awards : Who will perform, who will win, who should win ''. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved October 22, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Grammy countdown : Is Eminem 's ' Relapse ' a lock for best rap album ? ''. Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. January 19, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010. Jump up ^ `` 53rd Annual Grammy Awards nominees list ''. Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved December 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` 2011 -- 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominees And Winners : Pop Field ''. The Recording Academy. November 30, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Grammys 2013 : Winners List ''. Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2017. Jump up ^ `` 56th GRAMMY Awards : Full Winners List ''. Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2017. Jump up ^ `` 57th Grammy Nominees ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 5, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Grammy Nominations 2016 : See the Full List of Nominees ''. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015. Jump up ^ http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grammy/2016spring/?sf24717227=1#/28 Jump up ^ `` Grammys 2017 : Complete list of winners and nominees ''. Los Angeles Times. February 12, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017. Jump up ^ Lynch, Joe ( November 28, 2017 ). `` Grammys 2018 : See the Complete List of Nominees ''. Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2017. External links Official site of the Grammy Awards Grammy Award for Best Rap Album 1996 -- 2000 Poverty 's Paradise -- Naughty by Nature ( 1996 ) The Score -- Fugees ( 1997 ) No Way Out -- Puff Daddy and the Family ( 1998 ) Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life -- Jay - Z ( 1999 ) The Slim Shady LP -- Eminem ( 2000 ) 2001 -- 2010 The Marshall Mathers LP -- Eminem ( 2001 ) Stankonia -- Outkast ( 2002 ) The Eminem Show -- Eminem ( 2003 ) Speakerboxxx / The Love Below -- Outkast ( 2004 ) The College Dropout -- Kanye West ( 2005 ) Late Registration -- Kanye West ( 2006 ) Release Therapy -- Ludacris ( 2007 ) Graduation -- Kanye West ( 2008 ) Tha Carter III -- Lil Wayne ( 2009 ) Relapse -- Eminem ( 2010 ) 2011 -- present Recovery -- Eminem ( 2011 ) My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy -- Kanye West ( 2012 ) Take Care -- Drake ( 2013 ) The Heist -- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ( 2014 ) The Marshall Mathers LP 2 -- Eminem ( 2015 ) To Pimp a Butterfly -- Kendrick Lamar ( 2016 ) Coloring Book -- Chance the Rapper ( 2017 ) Damn -- Kendrick Lamar ( 2018 ) Grammy Award Categories Grammy Nominees Records Locations EGOT Special awards Legend Award Lifetime Achievement Award Trustees Award Special Merit / Technical Grammy Award Hall of Fame MusiCares Person of the Year Ceremony year 1959 May Nov 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Related Grammy Museum By Country American Argentine Australian Austrian Brazilian British Canadian Chinese Cuban French Indian Irish Italian Japanese Malian Mexican Nigerian New Zealand Peruvian Polish Senegalese South African Spanish Grammy Award Record of the Year Song of the Year Album of the Year Best New Artist The Recording Academy Grammy Award categories General Record of the Year Album of the Year Song of the Year Best New Artist Pop Best Pop Solo Performance Best Pop Duo / Group Performance Best Pop Vocal Album Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Dance / Electronic Best Dance Recording Best Dance / Electronic Album Rock Best Rock Performance Best Metal Performance Best Rock Song Best Rock Album Alternative Best Alternative Music Album R&B Best R&B Performance Best Traditional R&B Performance Best R&B Song Best R&B Album Best Urban Contemporary Album Rap / Hip - Hop Best Rap Performance Best Rap / Sung Performance Best Rap Song Best Rap Album Country Best Country Solo Performance Best Country Duo / Group Performance Best Country Song Best Country Album Jazz Best Improvised Jazz Solo Best Jazz Vocal Album Best Jazz Instrumental Album Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album Best Latin Jazz Album Gospel / Contemporary Christian Music Best Gospel Performance / Song Best Gospel Album Best Roots Gospel Album Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance / Song Best Contemporary Christian Music Album Latin Best Latin Pop Album Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album Best Regional Mexican Music Album ( including Tejano ) Best Tropical Latin Album American Roots Best Americana Album Best Bluegrass Album Best Traditional Blues Album Best Contemporary Blues Album Best Folk Album Best Regional Roots Music Album Best American Roots Performance Best American Roots Song Music for Visual Media Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media Best Song Written for Visual Media Composing / Arranging Best Instrumental Composition Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals Crafts Best Historical Album Best Recording Package Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package Best Album Notes Production / Engineering Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Best Engineered Album, Classical Best Remixed Recording Best Surround Sound Album Producer of the Year, Non-Classical Producer of the Year, Classical Classical Best Orchestral Performance Best Opera Recording Best Choral Performance Best Chamber Music / Small Ensemble Performance Best Classical Instrumental Solo Best Classical Vocal Solo Best Classical Compendium Best Classical Contemporary Composition Music Video Best Music Video Best Music Film Others Contemporary Instrumental Best Contemporary Instrumental Album New Age Best New Age Album Reggae Best Reggae Album World Music Best World Music Album Spoken Word Best Spoken Word Album Children 's Best Children 's Album Comedy Best Comedy Album Musical Theatre Best Musical Theater Album Special Awards Lifetime Achievement Award Trustees Award Legend Award Grammy Hall of Fame MusiCares Person of the Year Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grammy_Award_for_Best_Rap_Album&oldid=852889806 '' Categories : 1996 establishments in the United States Awards established in 1996 Grammy Award categories Grammy Award for Best Rap Album Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Featured lists Talk Views Contents About Wikipedia Dansk Deutsch Español Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Polski Português Русский Suomi Türkçe 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 1 August 2018, at 01 : 52 ( UTC ). 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Question: who has won the most grammys for best rap album
Answer: Eminem