Drake Rejects Grammy Race, Keeps Triple Album Release Out Of Grammy Running As Feud Continues

Drake is keeping three hit albums out of the Grammy race as his long feud with the Recording Academy rolls on.

The three projects swept the Billboard 200’s top spots upon release, with Iceman leading the pack ahead of Habibti and Maid of Honour.

On Iceman‘s closing track “Make Them Know,” Drake makes his stance clear: “This album, I’m never submittin’ it.”

His public clash with the Grammys dates to 2017, when “Hotline Bling” won Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Performance.

The wins angered Drake because he viewed “Hotline Bling” as a pop song and said he didn’t rap on the track. He questioned whether the Academy kept placing him in rap categories because he was Black or had built his career as a rapper.

For Drake, those trophies failed to honor the kind of music he had made and boxed him into a genre he wanted to move beyond.

“I won two awards, but I don’t even want them because it just feels weird for some reason,” Drake told OVO Sound Radio.

He also resented the lack of nominations for “One Dance,” another huge hit he viewed as proof of his success as a pop artist.

Drake skipped submitting More Life for the 2018 awards and used his 2019 Best Rap Song win for “God’s Plan” to challenge Grammy prestige.

“We play in an opinion-based sport, not a factual-based sport,” he said. “You’re already winning, you don’t need this right here.”

The broadcast cut to an ad break during his speech, though the Academy said producers mistook a pause for the end.

In 2020, Drake also challenged the awards after The Weeknd received no nominations and urged the music world to build a new prize.

He then withdrew two nominations for the 2022 ceremony: Best Rap Album for Certified Lover Boy and Best Rap Performance for “Way 2 Sexy.” That song featured Future and Young Thug, while Drake’s later joint album Her Loss with 21 Savage competed at the 2024 awards.

BTS also chose to sit out the 2027 race after the Academy added an award for Best Asian Pop Music Performance.

“We hope our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language,” BTS said.

Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said artists could still seek the top prizes while also entering the new Asian pop category.

Stray Kids’ agency JYP Entertainment confirmed no entry for the group but gave no reason, Variety reports.

The Academy will announce its next Grammy nominees on November 16 ahead of the awards ceremony on February 7, 2027.