Rap is an overall winner, but loser at the Grammys

Since its beginnings in the 1970s, rap music has transformed from an underground, street-based sound to a definitive part of pop culture. But at the Grammy Awards, rap has had a long-lasting losing streak in the top categories.

The hip-hop sound - first recognized at the 1989 Grammys - has garnered numerous prestigious nominations over the years, and for 10 of the last 14 years, rap acts have either led or tied for most Grammy nominations. But rarely will a hip-hop act win one of the show's top four honors - album, song and record of the year, along with best new artist. Instead, rap acts tend to win rap awards.

This year, hip-hop leads the Grammys in nominations, with Kanye West earning seven; it's his third year as the show's top-nominated act. While his song "All of the Lights" is up for song of the year, his critically revered fifth album, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," didn't score an album of the year nomination. Even Jimmy Jam - the chair emeritus of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences - was surprised by West's snub.

"I think he's one of the genius artists, and I'm saying this as a person who's worked with Michael Jackson and Prince, so I don't throw that word around lightly," Jam said.

West's album with Jay-Z, "Watch the Throne," was also left out of the top album category; both CDs are nominated for best rap album.

But Steve Stoute, the former record executive who accused the Grammys of being irrelevant last year in an advertisement in The New York Times after Eminem and Justin Bieber lost top awards, believes The Recording Academy doesn't have board members who understand hip-hop as a true art form.

"If (the Academy) understood that, then (rappers) would be scoring technical points," he said.

In Grammy history, 14 hip-hop albums have received nominations for album of the year. Lauryn Hill has the distinction of being the first hip-hop artist to win album of the year for "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" in 1999, but the album, while featuring rap, was heavy on R&B. Hill also won best new artist that year. A rapper hasn't won the award since.

OutKast followed in Hill's footsteps with an album of the year win in 2004 for "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below." It, too, was not strictly hip-hop.

But no rapper has ever won record or song of the year, and both Eminem and West, each nominated three times, have failed to win the album of the year trophy in years where they appeared to be critical favorites.

At last year's Grammys, three of the five songs nominated for record of the year were rap smashes. Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now," ended up with record and song of the year honors.

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, the leader and drummer of the Roots, says the hip-hop community shares some of the blame for its losing streak. He says those in the genre aren't involved enough with The Recording Academy, its community and its events.

"We're not active members of (The Recording Academy) and I promise to take a more active role in that," said Questlove, who has won three Grammys.

Jam says rap's losses are also a reflection of the Grammy membership, which he said is traditionally heavy with members of the country, jazz and classical music worlds.

But Stoute had harsh words for Jam. Stoute and Jam had a conversation after last year's awards, and Stoute was upset that Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" wasn't up for song of the year: At the Grammys, a track is not eligible for that award if it contains a sample or if it's not an original piece of work.

"What he's doing is not right," Stoute said of Jam. "And if he's supposed to be the guy who understands urban music because of his famed career as a producer ... (and) if he's not going to be sensitive to the creativity around hip-hop, I am sorry, we're in trouble."

Jam, who was the Academy's chairman from 2005 to 2009, says his goal was to diversify the Grammy community, and if people have an issue with traditional Grammy rules, they should demand a change.

"You can write a proposal," Jam said. "I hope ... people step up to the challenge rather than dismiss it, which is the easy thing to do.'"