Drake withdraws his 2022 Grammy nominations

Rapper was nominated in two categories: best rap album and best rap performance

Drake has asked the Recording Academy to withdraw his nominations for the 2022 Grammy Awards.

The 35-year-old rapper was nominated for two awards. His new album Certified Lover Boy was nominated for the Best Rap Album category and his song “Way 2 Sexy” featuring Young Thug and Future was nominated for Best Rap Performance.

Drake and his management made this decision, according to Variety. But the actual reason behind the move is still unclear.

The Independent has contacted Drake’s representatives for comment.

In 2020, the “Toosie Slide” singer spoke out against the Grammys after fellow Canadian singer The Weeknd walked away with zero nominations despite having multiple hits in the year.

“I think we should stop allowing ourselves to be shocked every year by the disconnect between impactful music and these awards and just accept that what once was the highest form of recognition may no longer matter to the artists that exist now and the ones that come after,” Drake said on Instagram in November 2020.

“It’s like a relative you keep expecting to fix up but they just can’t change their ways”, the rapper had added. “The other day I said The Weeknd was a lock for either Album or Song of the Year along with reasonable assumptions and it just never goes that way.”

Drake went on to suggest that it was time someone offered an alternative to the Grammys award show and mentioned a handful of other artists who didn’t receive nominations last year, like Lil Baby, Popcaan, and “too many missing names to even name”.

Last month, the Recording Academy also announced that the top categories would be expanded from eight nominees to 10.

According to the New York Times, this move led to stars like Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Lil Nas X, and Abba being added to the lists of top awards at the 11th hour.

However, Swift was again dropped from an Album of the Year nomination due to a submission error.

The 2022 Grammys will take place on 31 January. See the full list of nominees here.