We’re not going to waste your time with a long intro since you already know what you’re getting from the headline: the worst rap albums to ever get nominated in the Best Rap Album category throughout its 21-year history at the Grammy Awards. Get your arguing hat on and let’s get into it.
Years reflect the year the album was nominated.
Naughty By Nature – Poverty’s Paradise (1996)*
Even as pioneering rappers and leaders of the no-nonsense movement, Naughty By Nature have never been considered album rappers. Classic records like “OPP” and “Hip Hop Hooray” stand alone in their own right, but 1996’s Poverty’s Paradise features neither of those songs. When you factor in that it was the first Grammy for Best Rap Album and it beat out Bone Thugs’ E. 1999 Eternal, 2Pac’s Me Against the World and ODB’s Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version … actually, I lost my train of thought. Those are some mind-boggling facts.
DMX – …And Then There Was X (2001)
In 1998, DMX kicked down the door in Timberland boots at such at a rabid pace, the Grammys didn’t get around to nominating either of his first two history-making, chart-topping albums. By the time …And Then There Was X came around, the Dark Man had built up a name for himself, but where he avoided the sophomore slump, he missed out on the three-peat, at least in terms of quality. For every “Party Up,” there was a “Good Girls, Bad Guys.” Regardless, it’s still X’s highest-selling album to date with five platinum plaques to its name.
Lil Wayne – Tha Carter IV (2012)
While both Weezy and Birdman continue to trade subliminals (and not-so-subliminals) over Carter V blame, the Carter IV keeps racking up irrelevance points. The first-week sales of nearly a milli still raise eyebrows to this day and Wayne definitely sounded uninspired for most of the project.
Iggy Azalea – The New Classic (2015)
Say what you will about Iggy Iggz but she had the glow for 15 minutes. She took the tornado caused by “Fancy” and used it to take the world by storm. Now, as for the album that monster hit appeared on, describing it as “weak” would be putting things nicely. Its inclusion in the Grammy noms was a slap in the face to the likes of Freddie Gibbs and Madlib’s Piñata, YG’s My Krazy Life and Run The Jewels 2, among several others.
Dr. Dre – Compton (2016)
Don’t listen to the critics. Stat Quo says it was wack — and he worked on it. End of discussion.
Common – Universal Mind Control (2010)
Like DMX, Common hadn’t achieved mainstream notoriety during the run of his first two critically acclaimed albums so the nomination for UMC felt more like an olive branch than anything else. Although it wasn’t exactly Electric Circus discombobulated, this project still ranks on the lower rung of Comm’s catalog, as it was dominated by several attempts for commercial success. The title track still goes, though.
Eminem – Recovery* (2011)
There are two types of Eminem fans in this world: Team Relapse, Recovery Is Annoying and Team Fuck The Accents On Relapse, Recovery Was Better Bitch. Argue among yourselves all you want but living in a world with an Eminem album that doesn’t have Dr. Dre production is not a Hip Hop planet I want to be a part of. And nor should you.
Em and Lil Wayne actually sampled A Night at the Roxbury for “No Love.” When have you seen a car pull up bumping “Cinderella Man?” (Answer: never!). We love the honest moment of clarity (“Encore I was on drugs, Relapse I was flushing ’em out”) but this album wasn’t the lick.
50 Cent – The Massacre (2006)
History will show that The Massacre’s biggest infraction was following up the mega classic Get Rich or Die Tryin’. It packed a few good songs within its bulky tracklist (“Ski Mask Way,” the value-sized diss track “Piggy Bank,” etc.) but given his newfound business savvy, Fiddy was more concerned with cornering marketing spaces than actually creating lasting product.
Back in 2004, 50 Cent infamously crashed the Grammys stage after Evanescence inexplicably won the Best New Artist trophy over him. Although the Committee messed that one up, nominating The Massacre wasn’t exactly the make-good any of us needed.
Jay-Z – Kingdom Come (2008)
When Jay Z calls his Black Album-to-Kingdom Come transition the “worst retirement in history,” you have call a spade for it was. Jigga’s comeback was far from total wackness (it has 400% more Dr. Dre beats than Eminem’s Recovery and the Budweiser campaign is still something for all rappers to envy) but it was far from the witty genius rap heads were accustomed to. And it also didn’t deserve a Grammy nom.
Drake – Views (2017)
Forget sales. Read the review. Check out the aftermath.
Skee-Lo – I Wish (1996)
You probably didn’t even know there was a Skee-Lo I Wish album, did you? It’s not an uncommon practice for an artist to name their album after a popular single in hopes to entice the public into picking up the entire project. The daydreaming shorty did just that but he’s commonly known as one of the most renowned one-hit wonders the culture has ever seen. Don’t take it as a diss to his career, however. He’s still a very active tourer and collects checks from the foundation he laid.
Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S. (2010)
It’s not lost on anyone that this sing-songy sales magnet is a favorite metaphor among rap heads for all things cheesy and pop. That said, R.O.O.T.S. is easily Flo Rida’s worst project. Song titles like “Gotta Get It (Dancer),” “Sugar” and “Be on You” are cringeworthy enough without the actual music. [Editor’s Note: I really like “Sugar” but that’s beside the point here.] If anything, “Right Round” obtained legend status for closing out The Hangover in glorious fashion. But, that’s what the Best Rap Performance category is for.
LL Cool J – The DEFinition (2005)
“They call me Big Elly…” You’ll definitely find a ton of conflicting opinions when it comes to LL and Timbaland’s unforgettable “Headsprung” duet, but take that away from The DEFinition and what are you left with? Anybody? Name me one other song. Anybody out there? Didn’t think so. The self-proclaimed G.O.A.T. DEFinitely doesn’t get the credit he deserves for having a solid album discog (Mr. Smith, 10, Bigger and Deffer just to name a few) but The DEFinition is easily one of his worst.
Jay Z – Magna Carta Holy Grail (2014)
At this point, it’s obvious Jay Z’s name is Grammy nom gold, no matter the season, weather or talking head in the White House. (Blueprint 3 nearly made this list too.) It’s not an uncommon opinion to hear Magna Carta Holy Grail being hailed as Hov’s worst album but it does have the distinction for setting off the streaming game, thanks to his partnership with Samsung at the time. #NewRules.
Nelly – Suit (2005)
Ok, so the Tim McGraw-collaboration “Over and Over” jumped the shark and became a smash hit, but what about the rest of the album? Released in 2004 at the same time as his adjacent album Sweat, Suit was created to showcase the sophisticated bachelor in contrast to the other project, which was the platform for the guy who created the greatest Hip Hop music video of all-time with nothing more than a pool party and a credit card (print that!). Instead of greatness, we found our country grammarian rapping about women’s feet and the finer side of materialism. He eventually released Sweatsuit, which was the best of both albums and an overall better idea.
Mystikal – Tarantula (2003)
MC Mystikal’s last album before his career was derailed from a rape charge and subsequent prison sentence (actually his last album — period) was far from the sendoff his legacy deserved. It kicked off with a phenomenal record: the Neptunes-produced “Bouncin’ Back (Bumpin’ Me Against the Wall)” and crashed off a cliff immediately after. Now that the Cash Money shackles have been removed, the redemption time is now.
*This actually won. What thee fuck?
Magna carta ???? Are u guys on fucking drugs…that album was dope af
100% Dope!
It’s no Blueprint but considering the amount of trash he put out between those two albums i would definitely say it was dope
Nah. Garbage album. Another one to add to Jay’s list. Half of his discog is horrible.
Never comment on this site but the fact checking is terrible on a lot of these articles recently… How was 50 nominated for the massacre in 04 when dropped in 05?? Plenty of other thrown together shit on here lately.. step it up niggas
This is the most blasphemous s h I t I’ve seen on here in a log time. Every employee and associate of this site should be shot in the face with a 44 mag. You imbeciles are aware MACKLEMORE beat out Kendrick last year and Milli Vanilli HAVE WON GRAMMYS. How dare you disrespect Hiphop legends like Naughty by Nature, X, Em, and Drew. I know what it is you’re trying to do, this is the most blatant form of click bait I’ve seen on this site. You want to get people arguing because the traffic looks good to investors and advertisers. I don’t care tho F U C K YOU for disrespecting our culture and being a part of the downfall of music we love so much f uck this site. If I ever catch any of you outside I’m slapping the life out of you
Some of those were good albums, just not great. And Compton was dope. I swear anything now that isn’t a “hit” or a classic is wack. You really gonna say Massacre, Holy Grail and X was wack?!
Waiting for the day you do a Top 1000 worst ever hhdx articles. There’s a lot to choose from but this one will be top 5, easily.
I can’t rock with this article. Some of these were good albums and if u measure what they were up against that year in rap most of were rightfully nominated.
I liked Recovery and Relapse
This article was some ?
Recovery, and X don’t deserve to be in this list.
I consider myself a hip-hop head and absolutely loved Recovery… was full of truth, inspiration and bars. I’m still picking up on Cinderella man references #dope
What a shitty airtle. I guess you got what you want for making me comment here for the first time. C’mon this is a SITE you use the internet. If you don’t know shit at least use google. I’ve concluded that this site is all about FICTION not FACTS. You must be a Macklemore fan or you’re just straight up clueless about hip hop. Do your research and stop mis-informing people who come here to get ”KNOWLEDGE” about this sport. What a damn shame. I’m never coming to this site again. Your articles reduce brain power.
‘Naughty By Nature have never been considered album rappers’….. NBN have a number of great cohesive albums. Poverty’s Paradise alone has Craziest, Clap Yo Hands, Feel Me Flow, It’s Workin’, Sunshine… Plenty of great tracks besides what they’re known for. Tarantula is mad underrated. I Wish is actually a good album too. 50 Cent is a piece of shit but Massacre is as unfairly hated on as GRODT is overrated.
GRODT IS NOT OVERRATED WTF
It is. Listen to it these days. Dated as fk. One of the most dated ’00s ‘classics’ there is.
I honestly forgot there wuz a Carter 4 haha
Massacre was full of hit singles, not my fav album but not near the worst. Ppl hate on kingdom come but a solid 70% is fire, as was recovery. Blueprint 3 almost made the list apparently which leaves me to believe this guy writing the article is wacker than lil Waynes Prom Queen. Goes to show that music is subjective, not everyone will agree with this list nor will everyone agree with my comment.
Naw. Recovery was actually a pretty good album. If you wanted to include an Eminem album, it has to be Relapse as that album was pretty garbage.
Em put some of his best bars on that album. And Dre went crazy on the beats.
Recovery was an absolute masterpiece. Of course you can’t pull up to a club with it, but… wtf. .. not every hip hop song can. The bars, metaphors, poetry was amazing on that album. Every song from top to bottom was great!
Masterpiece? Pink, Lil Wayne….lol…right.
I dont know fam. Pinks raspy voice sounded good on that guitardriven beat. And wayne was mad focused for once on that verse. And to the writer of the article. its a Haddaway sample btw. Do your research!
“Argue among yourselves all you want but living in a world with an Eminem album that doesn’t have Dr. Dre production is not a Hip Hop planet I want to be a part of. And nor should you.”
Just to let you know, Recovery had a song named “So Bad” produced by Dr. Dre, and it also had a bonus track named “Ridaz” with a Dre beat. Y’all so called journalists are absolutely clueless.
Trent Clark is garbage. And so are the editors. The entire staff should listen to Recovery because they are all on drugs
Man… Tarantula was cool. I mean, it wasn’t probably Grammy worthy but not a bad album regardless. Then again, I grew up in N.O. so I’m a bit biased. Recovery was dope, probably one of the few albums on here I disagree with along with Kingdom Come. I still go back to Kingdom Come to this day and bump boocoo tracks off that album. And the DMX album, …Then There Was X may not be his best but X is a quality rapper. That album was far from trash as well. Probably could’ve had worse (Iggy Azalea anyone)???
This website has the duty to not only entertain but educate Hiphop fans. How dare you use your little bullshit blog to spread around blasphemy on RAP ICONS AND LEGENDS. If it wasn’t for the majority of the artists on this list DX would of never even existed as they create the content you analyze, and analyze it poorly. Trent Clark don’t ever write something this disrespectful again. Or I’ll tell everybody how your momma sucks dick for a bacon and cheese whopper and uses the wrapper to wipe the cum off her lips, you fucking fraud
Recovery? Magna Carta? Kingdom Come? Y’all trippin at this site. But will continue to praise Chance the Rapper overrated ass and that garbage ass Coloring Book.
Coloring Book was far from garbage.
I am bullshit. Sorry.
Haha. Player haters ball up in this comment section!
Eminem’s RECOVERY, in MY opinion, is his BEST ALBUM.
VIEWS is another GREAT ALBUM from Frizzy.
COMPTON was a CLASSIC!!
THE MASSACRE was EASILY 50s best work. The So-Called CLASSIC GET RICH… had too many throw away songs for me
The Massacre was the last decent 50 album. Sure it had its fair share of wackness but still way better than anything he put out since
Eminem’s Recovery was good. Your dumb to even think its not good cus Dre not on it but yet every hit single Dre produced for Eminem was a pop hit. 50 Cent’s Massacre album wasnt better than his first but it was still great. Jay Z Magna Carta was probably one of his best albums to date. He had the best producers on that album and he had better bars than his lats 4 albums did. Yall niggas suck at doing reviews. Ya would give Future a better review over Drakes Views smh. Ya are stupid and need to change your site name to TrashDX.
I agree Magna Carta Holy Grail was dope, especially since in my opinion his last good album before it was The Blueprint. Basically i had already given up on dude then MCHG come out and i enjoyed it. Thanks for reminding me about it i had forgot it completely, need to listen it again
Black album was fire, American gangster too. MCHG was good, but near the bottom of the Hov’ catelogue. Can’t put respek on your name with you spittin that kind of nonsense
That Naughty by nature album wasn’t bad, but it def had no business beating out Bone thugs, Tupac and wu, damn thats crazy that all those classic albums came out in that year, and I’m pretty sure Outkast drop a classic that year too, now we are lucky to get a classic rap album every 3 years maybe. The Massacre was a good album to me, although I find nelly overall wack suit was a good listen if you like smooth laid back sing song music he did jack bone thugs type melodies for that album tho. Recovery was horrible, to me personally Em hasn’t put out a good album since the Em show, same with Jay he hasn’t had a good album since American Ganster, kingdom come was before AG it wasnt good either.
Pac should have won. As for the other ones… ODB is like a hypeman. He had no business doing a solo album. Album is average af. I understand why Bone Thugs were popular at the times, but you can’t understand half the shit they’re saying and album is boring af.
Well that’s your opinion Bone thugs album was really good as a matter fact you can argue that they drop 2 classics back to back. I have never heard anybody ever say that album was boring, at the time they are legends and now majority consider them they greatest rap group ever. Even me being a bone thugs fan their is no way to argue one over the other it was a toss up between Bone, Wu, and Tupac either could have won and it wouldn’t have been wrong.
Bunck ass list
Why is 50 on there
DMX shouldn’t be on that list. And then there was X was a strong album. Not a classic but strong. It’s funny this article didn’t mention Drake’s Take Care album beating out Nas Life is Good. Drake’s album was basically an R&B joint but won Best Album. Tupac, Nas, DMX, Snoop Dogg all haven’t won a Grammy. That is why I stopped paying attention to award shows years ago.
Nah, Take Care definitely deserved that Grammy.
Skee-Lo whatever happened to dude. Talk about a one hit wonder smh
So you guys are going to listen to a guy (Stat Quo) who refused to do a hook Eminem wrote and ended up derailing his own career???
I used to like this website. But you guys are dumb shits. Recovery is dope. One if Em’s best. And Compton??? I listened to that for 2 months straight. Stat quo is as dumb as you guys.
Haha Carter IV was not in 2009, it got release after he gets out of prison which means in 2011 ( August 29, 2011 to be exact ).
Guys do your research first .
Son is right here. The closest album to 2009 by dude would be Carter III.
And Then There Was X is MUCH better than his uninspired, generic Flesh of My Flesh..
You’re right. Big DMX fan but I don’t feel much on that album at all.
I see what your issue is out the gate…..you were not around for “The Single” These joints had smash singles and that is why they got praise. As far as that DMX record you just talking dumb. Many of the others have smash hits though and that led to the nod. #stepyourresearchup
Hot single doesn’t automatically equate to good album
The massacre & Curtis album are classics
Dre did a good work on that relapse album. This aint the best eminem album but relapse was better than recovery
Recovery wasn’t perfect but ‘Cold Wind Blows’ is the kind of eminem flow I miss. I’d take that Eminem over any since TES
You’re trying to tell me jay-z holy grail is his worst album?!? That’s shits a masterpiece! There’s not one bad song on the album, as well as the carter 4! Most rap today is influenced my both of these albums so whoever wrote this needs to stop chatting shit
Holy grail was ok, but it was Not a masterpiece. Kingdom Come had some good songs, but it was pretty bad. He was coming back from retirement. Album was still one of his worst if not the worst. Didn’t deserve a Grammy nod.
You’re delusional, dude. Stop stanning.
More proof the Grammy’s don’t know what they doing. Just picking whatever rapper they hear on the radio the most. I’m got all Jay-Z albums and there is no way those two albums should have been nominated for anything. All you need is a name and radio play to get the nod. Nelly, Drake and flo-rida? Come on now those dudes barely rap. They pop artists. Find some ppl that listen to rap to make the picks. And don’t give me that b s you googled about how they they have actual producers and other Jack offs making the picks. Cause they don’t. Old weirdos make the picks.
The homosexuality is strong on that Massacre cover smh
Mystikal’s Tarantula Album worst Album category??? get the *uck out of here
I don’t disagree with a single one of those selections. None had any business being near a grammy nom. (Though truth be told I did enjoy Poverty’s Paradise …. but those were still the golden years of hip hop and there were at least a dozen better albums that year)
This is a good list and I’m a let you finishe but Kingdom Come had a bunch of great songs and so had Poverty’s Paradise. Let’s even forget Kingdom Come; thus it was forgettable. Naughty By Nature had Craziest, Feel Me Flow on it, these singles went hard. Clap Yo Hands is one of the best songs in their catalogue. The rest of that lp was good at least. It’s a pleasure to listen to PP even as of today. Anyway that’s a good list
HHDX GAVE HALF THESE ALBUKS 4 STARS OR BETTER WTF !!!!???? (RECOVERY, COMPTON,etc) y’all some hypocrites
Very true smh
Ok so maybe you could include recovery… if you were to include BOB’s album, Thank me Later and BP3, they were up with it too and were all trash, and a lot worse than recovery.
Stopped reading when I saw COMPTON. It’s a concept album, ok it’s not grammy worthy, but it’s still dope don’t get it twisted.
That’s the point of the article. Albums that weren’t Grammy worthy.
So you’ve thrown compton on there and not Pinkprint? Recovery and not Thank Me Later? Magna Carta and not yeezus or Nothing was the same? Kingdom come and not TI vs TIP? This is the worst article ever, and could have been so dope if you didn’t want to be controversial.
You must be out your damn mind Thank Me Later and Nothing Was The Same are both classics.
I fucking hate drakes music now. Well at least when he tries to be hard. Fuckers a pop star and should stick to that shit, but thank me later was dope.
I won’t say nothing about rest but NWTS and Yeezus was better than Magna Carta.
Nothing Was The Same is so much better than Magna Carta, it isn’t even a discussion.
Next up on HHDX: why illmatic is trash
Magna carter and Kingdom Come are worthy entries by King HOV. I mean easily better albums than say Illmatic, I mean Illmatic wasn’t even good enough to get a grammy nod! Oh yeah Nas has never won a grammy. Keep staying a broke loser Nas.
Since when is a Grammy refelective of talent! Moron
HOV is my nigga but great point fam
Whatever, you’re just another broke Nas fan. King HOV has no problem winning Grammy awards, all these other Hip Hop dudes screaming racism and cultural bias at the Grammy awards are full of shit. King HOV consistently wins these awards because he makes the best Hip Hop and the Grammy committees can see that. Be a unrecognized broke Nas, claiming racism is holding you back. Just make better music and the awards will follow.
Dude, you do realize Nas is close to being a billionaire, don’t you? Check the man’s investment portfolio.
Smdh…someone help out FQ.B. by fixing my zipper… gotta get’m to hush-it some how…
Benzino got better sounding shit than Recovery
Bone thugs, Tupac Outkast and Wu drop classic in the same year thats unreal rap use to be fire
For compton: “Don’t listen to the critics. Stat Quo says it was wack — and he worked on it. End of discussion.”
this is why HHDX is my all time favorite website
Views was the best album released last year tf is wrong with you idiots?
Shut your mouth.
Hold up, Recovery helped me during depressed times in my life.. just because you didn’t agree with the subject of music doesn’t mean everyone does.. on that note there Fuck hhdx.
Fuck what they sayin recovery was dope as fuck. Cold wind blows opened with fucking BARS. Shady came back and shitted on everyone. That being said relapse was garbage. Still had bars tho.
I wouldn’t call the massacre wack…tracklist could have been slimmed down for sure but it had some of 50’s best songs on it in my opinion…”In My Hood”, “God Gave Me Style”, “Baltimore Love Thing”, “Ski Mask Way”…etc. I think people just hate on Massacre cuz of “candyshop”. And was Compton really that bad? I admit I haven’t listened to the whole thing, but the few tracks I did hear I thought sounded good.
Comoton album wasn’t bad, It just wasn’t as Raw and authentic as we used to hear him. It felt like they turned Compton into Hollywood.
The Massacre is 50s 2nd best album. By the time Curtis dropped you sensed his time was up. I remember when Recovery dropped, back then I thought it was real good but I wouldn’t listen to it at all today. Eminem on drugs is better than a sober Marshall Mathers
FOH, The Massacre is a solid album, shouldn’t be on this list at all!
The sheep hate 50 gets is crazy smh
This website is the worst
Y’all just hating. We’ve seen worse albums get nominated. But u chose to include carter4. You forgot Yeezus? And the other trash albums.
Not a drake fan but I don’t think views is one of the worst album nominated
I really appreciate this article.
I remember Eminem Recovery album being matched up against Childish Gambino – … Because of the internet, Wiz Khalifa – Black Hollywood, Iggy’s Trash a** album, and Schoolboy Q – Oxymoron.
…I was going for Childish or Schoolboy to win Rap Album of the Year. But ** shrugs ** THAS how Grammys do. Always thought these awards were based on how it moved the culture. But, there’s politics to this sh*t. Just think about it, J Dilla NEVER won a Grammy. I don’t even think he was even nominated.
Srry I take that back… It was the Marshall Mathers II joint tht beat Schoolboy and them. Not the Recovery. I still think Relaspe was better.
…IT IS BETTER!
Kingdom Come deserves that grammy nom just for the “Lost Ones” and “Minority Report” songs. Top notch songs!!
DMX made 5 dope albums in a row!! And then there was X is one of them. Totally deserved to be nominated! That album is filled with bangers and yea, good girls bad guys isnt the dmx im used to but that joint had girls going crazy back in the day so its still a win god damn it.
Oh, and Dre produced So Bad on recovery.
Compton got four bad songs on it. The rest are awesome.
Grammy is not relevant. They don’t reward the best lyrics, the galore of flows, the most progressive beats, the most coherent albums nor the most exciting cover art. They pick an artist from the most sellable ones. And this has nothing to do with music or art.
Tarantula was rated a solid 4/5 on this very same website.