Drake, Lamar lead but women shine in Grammy Award nod

Rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake led Grammy Award nominations on Friday, but Cardi B, Lady Gaga, Brandi Carlile and American newcomer H.E.R helped make it a female-dominated line-up.

Ten-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Ariana Grande and Camila Cabello were among the biggest snubs in top categories that were dominated by hip-hop and R&B.

Canada’s Drake, the most-streamed artist of 2018, won eight nominations, including album of the year for “Scorpion,” and both song and record of the year for his single “God’s Plan.”

Five of the expanded eight nominees in the album of the year race were women – Cardi B’s “Invasion of Privacy,” Janelle Monae’s “Dirty Computer”, folk singer Brandi Carlile’s “By the Way, I Forgive You,” country singer Kacey Musgraves’ “Golden Hour” and newcomer H.E.R.’s self-titled “H.E.R”.

Rapper Post Malone’s “Beerbongs & Bentleys” and the soundtrack to hit movie “Black Panther,” which was produced by Lamar, round out the album of the year field.

Lamar, the first rapper to win a Pulitzer Prize for music, Drake, Cardi B and Carlile also garnered nominations for record of the year.

The Recording Academy, whose members choose the Grammys, this year expanded to eight from five the number of nominees in the top four categories – record, song and album of the year, and best new artist – to allow a more diverse line-up.