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Charts

Gloria

Kendrick Lamar & SZA

Gloria
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2026 Grammys Best Rap Album Front-Runners: Kendrick Lamar, Clipse & Tyler, the Creator
Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis via Getty Images

Clipse perform on stage during the "Grace for the World" concert, on September 13, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican.

Awards

2026 Grammys Best Rap Album Front-Runners: Kendrick Lamar, Clipse & Tyler, the Creator

Could LL Cool J or Chance the Rapper be dark horses in this race? Billboard breaks down the potential nominees for best rap album at the 2026 Grammys.

Clipse has earned just one single Grammy nomination (best rap/sung collaboration for their turn on Justin Timberlake’s 2002 debut solo single, “Like I Love You”) in its two-decade-long career — could the brother duo of Pusha T and Malice take home their first trophy for best rap album at the 2026 ceremony with Let God Sort Em Out?

Clipse joins Kendrick Lamar (GNX) and Tyler, the Creator (Chromakopia) as the closest things to a lock for a best rap album nomination at next year’s Grammys. While Let God Sort Em Out soundtracked a triumphant comeback for Clipse, GNX cemented Lamar’s post-“Not Like Us” victory lap with additional Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s (“Squabble Up” and the SZA-assisted “Luther”) and the highest-grossing co-headlining tour of all time. As for Tyler, Chromakopia became his third consecutive Billboard 200 No. 1 album, earning him his first two Hot 100 top 10 hits (“Noid” and “Sticky,” both at No. 10) and marking the beginning of his biggest year yet. It’s also worth noting that Lamar has won this category three times, and Tyler has triumphed twice.

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