(AllHipHop News) Macklemore himself said he felt that Kendrick Lamar should win this year’s Grammy award for “Best Rap Album” over him, and it appears that some members of the Grammy committee felt that Macklemore should not have been nominated in the category in the first place.
[ALSO READ: Macklemore Says Kendrick Lamar’s “Good Kid, Maad City” Should Win Rap Album Of The Year]
According to an AP report, an unnamed source claims rap committee members asserted that the Seattle native’s The Heist album (with Ryan Lewis) was more reflective of pop music than rap. The controversy became a topic that had to be addressed by the entire Grammy committee. The general committee, which is made up of representatives from all genres, eventually voted to keep Mack and Lewis in the rap categories.
“If you strip away being influenced by the popularity or by who their fans are or by the amount of radio traction their songs got… and just dissect musically what it is, there’s no question it’s a Hip Hop album,” said the group’s manager Zach Quillen.
Macklemore and Lewis have other backers as well. The report cites frequent Drake producer Noah “40” Shebib and Hot 97 program director Ebro Darden as supporters of the duo being nominated for rap Grammys.
“If you’re rapping over a beat, it’s Hip Hop,” said Darden.
Macklemore and Lewis are up for seven awards at this weekend’s Grammy event. They will compete for the “Best Rap Album” (The Heist) and “Best Rap Song” (“Thrift Shop”). They were also nominated for “Album of the Year” and “Song of the Year” (“Same Love”).
[ALSO READ: Kendrick Lamar & Macklemore Up For Album Of The Year & Best New Artist Grammys]