Last Updated on May 18, 2023 by Scott Shetler
2013 Grammy prediction: Best Rap Album nominees
• Take Care, Drake
• Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1, Lupe Fiasco
• Life Is Good, Nas
• Undun, the Roots
• God Forgives, I Don’t, Rick Ross
• Based On A T.R.U. Story, 2 Chainz
Winning Best Rap Album at the Grammys is the ultimate sign of respect from the hip-hop community, and it’s not given out lightly. In the past 13 years, Eminem has won the award five times, Kanye West four times, Outkast twice, and Lil Wayne and Ludacris once each. That’s it – nobody else has broken through.
For 2013, none of those previous winners is nominated, so a new champ will be crowned. Who has the most respect among the group of six nominees? Not 2 Chainz, Lupe Fiasco, or Rick Ross.
That leaves Drake, Nas and the Roots. All are previous nominees. The Roots have been nominated on four prior occasions, Nas three times, and Drake once. Drake is the biggest commercial success of the bunch, Nas is the legendary wordsmith, and the Roots are the funky hip-hop band adored by all.
It’s a tough call. Conventional Grammy wisdom says to go with Drake, the biggest seller. But we have a feeling this is Nas’s turn. Few current MCs are as respected as Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, and even if his Life is Good didn’t sell as much as Drake’s Take Care, it was still reasonably commercially successful and earned him several nominations overall.
Life is Good was an artistic step forward, a personal statement about the events in his own life. The breakup of his marriage to R&B star Kelis was reflected in “Bye Baby,” while “Daughters” was about his own little girl.
The Roots could certainly break through, and Drake has a lot going for him, but we’ll predict that the best album in this category will actually win. Nas takes home the Grammy.
2013 Grammy Awards: Best Rap Album prediction
Deserves to win: Life is Good, Nas
Will win: Life is Good, Nas
Should have also been nominated: Cruel Summer, Kanye West & GOOD Music
See the list of every Rap Album nominee and winner in Grammy history.
