Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance
| Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Quality rap performances |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences |
| First awarded | 1989 |
| Last awarded | 2016 |
| Official website | grammy.com |
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists for quality rap performances. It was first presented at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989 and again at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990, after which point the award was split into two categories: Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. These two categories were combined again in 2012 as a result of a restructure of Grammy categories, and the reinstated Award for Best Rap Performance was presented at the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012.
The Grammy Awards, an annual ceremony established in 1958, and originally called the Gramophone Awards, are presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) 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 first award for Best Rap Performance was presented to DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (the vocal duo consisting of DJ Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith) for "Parents Just Don't Understand". The ceremony was not without controversy; nominees Jeff and Smith led a boycott in protest of the awards presentation not being televised, and some members of the rap community felt that more qualified artists were overlooked.
Rappers Jay Z, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar are two time winners of this award.
The restructuring of the categories and combination of Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group back into Best Rap Performance was the consequence of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences' wish to decrease the number of categories and awards and to eliminate distinctions between solo and duo or group performances.
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