At the 2022 Grammy Awards, Kanye West is one of the most-nominated musicians, as he has five chances to win. The rapper is hoping to finally snag Album of the Year for his recent release Donda, and he’s also up for several honors in the rap fields. In one category, the controversial star could tie one of the most successful artists ever should he collect another trophy, which is certainly a possibility.
West’s single “Hurricane” is one of the five tracks nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance, which in past years has been known as Best Rap/Sung Performance and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Essentially, it’s a space for compositions that blend rapping and singing into something fantastic, so it shouldn’t be surprising that oftentimes, most of the nominees are big hits. West is competing with The Weeknd and Lil Baby, who are also credited on the tune, and should they be named the winner, the man who fronts the cut will make history.
If “Hurricane” is chosen by Grammy voters as the Best Melodic Rap Performance, West will collect his fifth trophy in that ever-evolving category. In doing so, he’ll tie Rihanna for the second-most wins ever. At the moment, he sits alone in third place, behind only RiRi and his frequent collaborator Jay-Z, who has snagged this honor seven times.
West first won this Grammy in 2009 as a featured artist on Estelle’s breakout single “American Boy.” He doubled his sum the following year with both Rihanna and Jay-Z, as their collaborative “Run This Town” was unbeatable. Two ceremonies later, he collected another piece of gold for his own “All of the Lights,” which also credited Kid Cudi, Fergie and, once again Rihanna, and they all won together. Yet again, West earned back-to-back Grammys in the rap/sung vertical, as in 2013 he ended up on top with "No Church in the Wild," a collaboration with The-Dream, Frank Ocean and, once more, Jay-Z.
While four wins in any Grammy category might seem like a lot (and it is), West’s ratio of wins to losses is surprisingly low. He holds the record for the most nominations in the Best Melodic Rap Performance category, as he’s been up for the honor 15 times, including with his latest nod. There have been several years when he’s competed against himself, and sometimes one of his own cuts beat another.
“Hurricane” is a strong contender for the Best Melodic Rap Performance Grammy, but it’s not a sure thing yet. The rapper is currently competing against all of the following tracks, any one of which could be selected by voters as the best of the year: J. Cole and Lil Baby’s (who is in the running against himself) "Pride Is the Devil," Doja Cat’s “Need to Know,” Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s “Industry Baby” and Tyler, the Creator, Youngboy Never Broke Again and Ty Dolla $ign’s "WusYaName."
The winners of the 2022 Grammy Awards will be announced on April 3.
