# 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. 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 2023, 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 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.

## Recipients

| Year | 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 · 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 Don't The Roots – Undun | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | [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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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) Nas – King's Disease II Kanye West – Donda | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.