Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance
"Luther" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA is the most recent recipient
Awarded forQuality songs featuring both rapped and sung vocals or rap-singing
CountryUnited States
Presented byNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
First award2002
Currently held byKendrick Lamar and SZA, "Luther" (2026)
Most winsJay-Z (7 wins)
Most nominationsKanye West (15 nominations)
Websitegrammy.com

The Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance (awarded as Best Rap/Sung Collaboration until 2017, and Best Rap/Sung Performance from 2018 to 2020) is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards,[1] to recording artists for quality songs on which have both rapped and sung or sing-rap vocals. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".[2]

The name and definition of the category were changed in June 2020, with immediate effect, to represent the inclusivity of the growing hybrid performance trends within the rap genre. According to the Recording Academy, "This category is intended to recognize solo and collaborative performances containing elements of rap and melody over modern production. This performance requires a strong and clear presence of melody combined with rap cadence, and is inclusive of dialects, lyrics or performance elements from non-rap genres including R&B, rock, country, electronic or more. The production may include traditional elements of rap or elements characteristic of the aforementioned non-rap genres."[3]

The award goes to the artist(s). The producer, engineer and songwriter can apply for a Winners Certificate.[4]

American rapper Eve and American singer Gwen Stefani won the first award in 2002 with "Let Me Blow Ya Mind". The pair were also nominated a second time in 2006 for "Rich Girl". American rapper Jay-Z has received seven Grammys in the category— four times as lead artist and three times as featured artist; he has also been nominated for three other songs. Rihanna is the female artist with the most wins in the category, with five wins out of nine total nominations.

Recipients

Year[I] Performing artist(s) Work Nominees Ref.
2002 Eve featuring Gwen Stefani "Let Me Blow Ya Mind"
  • Ja Rule featuring Case – "Livin' It Up"
  • Jagged Edge featuring Nelly – "Where the Party At"
  • Ludacris featuring Nate Dogg – "Area Codes"
  • Mystic featuring Planet Asia – "W"
 [5]
2003 Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland "Dilemma"
  • Fat Joe featuring Ashanti – "What's Luv?"
  • Ja Rule featuring Ashanti – "Always on Time"
  • Nappy Roots featuring Anthony Hamilton – "Po' Folks"
  • Justin Timberlake featuring Clipse – "Like I Love You"
 [6]
2004 Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z "Crazy in Love" [7]
2005 Usher featuring Ludacris and Lil Jon "Yeah!" [8]
2006 Linkin Park and Jay-Z "Numb/Encore" [9]
2007 Justin Timberlake featuring T.I. "My Love" [10]
2008 Rihanna featuring Jay-Z "Umbrella" [11]
2009 Estelle featuring Kanye West "American Boy" [12]
2010 Jay-Z featuring Rihanna and Kanye West "Run This Town" [13]
2011 Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys "Empire State of Mind" [14]
2012 Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi and Fergie "All of the Lights" [15]
2013 Jay-Z, Kanye West, Frank Ocean and The-Dream "No Church in the Wild" [16]
2014 Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake "Holy Grail" [17]
2015 Eminem featuring Rihanna "The Monster"
  • Common featuring Jhené Aiko – "Blak Majik"
  • ILoveMakonnen featuring Drake – "Tuesday"
  • Schoolboy Q featuring BJ the Chicago Kid – "Studio"
  • Kanye West featuring Charlie Wilson – "Bound 2"
 [18]
2016 Kendrick Lamar featuring Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat "These Walls" [19]
2017 Drake "Hotline Bling" [20]
2018 Kendrick Lamar featuring Rihanna "Loyalty"
  • 6lack – "Prblms"
  • GoldLink featuring Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy – "Crew"
  • Jay-Z featuring Beyoncé – "Family Feud"
  • SZA featuring Travis Scott – "Love Galore"
 [21]
2019 Childish Gambino "This Is America" [22]
2020 DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend "Higher" [23]
2021 Anderson .Paak "Lockdown"
  • DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch – "Rockstar"
  • Drake featuring Lil Durk – "Laugh Now Cry Later"
  • Roddy Ricch – "The Box"
  • Travis Scott – "Highest in the Room"
2022 Kanye West featuring The Weeknd and Lil Baby "Hurricane"
  • J. Cole featuring Lil Baby – "Pride Is the Devil"
  • Doja Cat – "Need to Know"
  • Lil Nas X featuring Jack Harlow – "Industry Baby"
  • Tyler, the Creator featuring Youngboy Never Broke Again and Ty Dolla $ign – "WusYaName"
 [24]
2023 Future featuring Drake and Tems "Wait for U"
  • DJ Khaled featuring Future and SZA – "Beautiful"
  • Jack Harlow – "First Class"
  • Kendrick Lamar featuring Blxst and Amanda Reifer – "Die Hard"
  • Latto – "Big Energy (Live)"
 [25]
2024 Lil Durk featuring J. Cole "All My Life" [26]
2025 Rapsody featuring Erykah Badu "3:AM"
  • Jordan Adetunji featuring Kehlani – "Kehlani"
  • Beyoncé, Linda Martell and Shaboozey – "Spaghettii"
  • Future, Metro Boomin and The Weeknd – "We Still Don't Trust You"
  • Latto – "Big Mama"
 [27]
2026 Kendrick Lamar and SZA "Luther"
  • Fridayy featuring Meek Mill – "Proud of Me"
  • JID featuring Ty Dolla Sign and 6lack – "Wholeheartedly"
  • Terrace Martin and Kenyon Dixon featuring Rapsody – "WeMaj"
  • PartyNextDoor and Drake – "Somebody Loves Me"
 [28]

^[I] Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.

Artists with multiple wins

7 wins
5 wins
3 wins
2 wins

Artists with multiple nominations

15 nominations
12 nominations
9 nominations
7 nominations
5 nominations
4 nominations
3 nominations
2 nominations

See also

References

General

Specific

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  2. "Overview". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on October 27, 2009.
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  6. "Complete list of Grammy nominees; ceremony set for Feb. 23". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. January 8, 2003. p. 4. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011.
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  17. "Grammys 2014: The complete list of nominees and winners". Los Angeles Times. 2014-01-26. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on 2015-03-04.
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  19. "Grammy Nominations 2016: See the Full List of Nominees". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. December 7, 2015. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015.
  20. "59th Grammy Nominees". Los Angeles Times. 6 December 2016. Archived from the original on January 14, 2017.
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  25. "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List". GRAMMY.com. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022.
  26. "2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List | GRAMMY.com". www.grammy.com. Archived from the original on 2023-11-10.
  27. Monroe, Jazz (2024-11-08). "Grammy Nominations 2025: See the Full List Here". Pitchfork.
  28. Willman, Chris (2025-11-07). "Grammy Nominations 2026: Kendrick Lamar Leads With Nine as Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and Leon Thomas Land Among Top Nominees". Variety.