LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, Megan Thee Stallion and DaBaby have blazed the Billboard charts, but Grammy voters didn’t nominate the young hip-hop stars in the best rap album category. Instead, the academy surprisingly nominated the genre’s more matured voices, including Nas, Jay Electronica, Freddie Gibbs, Royce da 5’9” and D Smoke. The nominees are over the age of 35, with Nas being the oldest at 47, and their albums were reviewed as solid pieces of work. But music enthusiasts saw a clear divide between the seasoned rappers and the shutout new generation, who were only celebrated for their hits in categories like best rap song and best rap performance.
