Drake Pulled Out Of The 2022 Grammys Race, And I'm Not Surprised
He's had issues with the Recording Academy for years.
When the 2022 Grammy nominations were announced on Nov. 23, so many talented musicians were recognized. One of the biggest names on the list was Drake, who is fresh off the release of his Certified Lover Boy album, and nabbed two nominations. However, when the ceremony kicks off in January 2022, fans probably shouldn’t expect to see Drizzy at the ceremony. Drake’s management team pulled out of the 2022 Grammys race, seemingly without explanation. Elite Daily reached out to Drake's reps for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.
Drake was initially a contender for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance at next year’s show. Variety was the first to report Drake’s withdrawal decision on Dec. 6. Sources told the outlet the decision was made by Drake himself and his team honored his request.
Soon after, the Recording Academy acknowledged the request and pulled his name from the nominations list. In a statement to E!, a rep for the Grammys said, "The Recording Academy received a request from Drake / his management to remove his nominations from our final-round ballot and that request has been honored."
While it’s unclear what, exactly, motivated Drake’s withdrawal, he does have a long and rather contentious history with the Recording Academy. For starters, there was the time he shaded them during an acceptance speech at the February 2019 show. "We play an opinion-based sport, not a factual-based sport," he said. "This is a business where sometimes it's up to a bunch of people that might not understand what a mixed-race kid from Canada has to say.”
In 2020, after The Weeknd’s infamous snub, Drake once again shaded the show.
"I think we should stop allowing ourselves to be shocked every year by the disconnect between impactful music and these awards and just accept that what once was the highest form of recognition may no longer matter to the artists that exist now and the ones that come after," he wrote on Instagram. "It's like a relative you keep expecting to fix up but they just can't change their ways."
Drake’s decision to pull his 2022 nominations was a shocking one (for some fans), but it seems he’s sticking to his guns.
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