# Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance

The Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality urban/alternative performances. Awards in several categories are distributed 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."
The award was first awarded to India.Arie at the 45th Grammy Awards (2003) for her song "Little Things". According to the category description guide for the 52nd Grammy Awards, the award was presented to artists that had made "newly recorded urban/alternative performances with vocals". The award was intended to recognize artists "who have been influenced by a cross-section of urban music" and who create music that is out of the "mainstream trends".
Two-time recipients include India.Arie, Cee Lo Green (once as part of the duo Gnarls Barkley), and Jill Scott. Erykah Badu, Big Boi (a member of OutKast) and will.i.am (a member of The Black Eyed Peas) share the record for the most nominations, with three each. Sérgio Mendes is the only performer to be nominated twice in one year. The category was dominated by Americans, yet individuals from Jamaica and Côte d'Ivoire also won the award. The award was discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of the Grammys where the category was shifted to the Best R&B Performance category.

## Recipients

| Year | Performing artist(s) | Work | Nominees |
| 2003 | India.Arie | "Little Things" | Erykah Badu and Common – "Love of My Life (Ode to Hip-Hop)" Floetry – "Floetic" CeeLo Green – "Getting Grown" Raphael Saadiq and D'Angelo – "Be Here" |
| 2004 | OutKast | "Hey Ya!" | Erykah Badu – "Danger" Kelis – "Milkshake" Les Nubians – "J'veux D'la Musique" Musiq – "Forthenight" |
| 2005 | Jill Scott | "Cross My Mind" | Mos Def – "Sex, Love & Money" Musiq – "Are You Experienced?" N.E.R.D – "She Wants to Move" The Roots – "Star" |
| 2006 | Damian Marley | "Welcome to Jamrock" | Floetry – "SupaStar" Gorillaz – "Dirty Harry" Mos Def – "Ghetto Rock" Van Hunt – "Dust" |
| 2007 | Gnarls Barkley | "Crazy" | Sérgio Mendes, Erykah Badu and will.i.am – "That Heat" Sérgio Mendes and The Black Eyed Peas – "Mas Que Nada" OutKast – "Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)" Prince – "3121" |
| 2008 | Lupe Fiasco and Jill Scott | "Daydreamin'" | Dwele – "That's the Way of the World" Vikter Duplaix – "Make a Baby" Alice Smith – "Dream" Meshell Ndegeocello – "Fantasy" |
| 2009 | Chrisette Michele and will.i.am | "Be OK" | Kenna – "Say Goodbye to Love" Maiysha – "Wanna Be" Janelle Monáe – "Many Moons" Wayna and Kokayi – "Lovin' You (Music)" |
| 2010 | India.Arie and Dobet Gnahoré | "Pearls" | The Foreign Exchange and Muhsinah – "Daykeeper" Robert Glasper and Bilal – "All Matter" Eric Roberson, Ben O'Neill and Michelle Thompson – "A Tale of Two" Tonéx – "Blend" |
| 2011 | CeeLo Green | "Fuck You" | Bilal – "Little One" Carolyn Malachi – "Orion" Janelle Monáe and Big Boi – "Tightrope" Eric Roberson – "Still" |
Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.