Nicki Minaj “Super Freaky Girl” kicked out of the Grammy Rap category – The Hollywood Reporter

Nicki MinajSuper Freaky Girl’s song “Super Freaky Girl” is spending its eighth week at the top of Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart, but in GrammyThe song will compete in the pop category.

Minaj originally submitted the track — which debuted at number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in August — to the Grammys’ rap categories, but the decision was overruled by the Recording Academy’s Rap Committee, according to a source. That group determined that Minaj’s hilarious, pop-like song, which was sampled from Rick James’ classic 1981 song “Super Freak,” should compete for the best solo performance in pop rather than rap. Awards.

Minaj criticized the decision on social media on Thursday, in a video post on Instagram and a series of tweets. They keep driving the lead when it comes to me,” Minaj said on IG of the academy. “Why is the goalpost only moved when it’s Nikki?”

Minaj also said that if “Super Freaky Girl” should compete in pop music, so should “Big Energy” lato, a pop-leader and auditioning Tom Club’s 1981 hit “Genius of Love,” which she is best known for mentioning Mariah Carey’s #1 hit song “Fantasy”.

“I have no issues being transferred from the RAP category as long as we are all treated fairly,” she wrote on Twitter. “If SFG (Super Freaky Girl) goes to 2B outside of RAP, so does Big Energy! Anyone who says the difference is just a Nikki hater or troll.”

Latto “Big Energy” spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard rap chart and peaked at number three on the Hot 100 of all genres chart. At the Grammys, “Big Energy” will compete for Grammys rap, not pop music.

A representative of the Recording Academy did not respond to an email requesting comment.

The 2023 Grammy Award nominees will be announced on November 15, and will go live on February 5, 2023, on CBS. Voting for the first round of nominees begins on Thursday and ends on October 23.

Minaj has released a number of pop and hip-hop songs over the years that feature rap or vocals – sometimes both on the same track. Her debut single, 2010’s “Your Love,” was juxtaposed with a sample of Annie Lennox’s 1995 cover version of “No More I Love You,” and Minaj released other hits like “Super Bass” and “Starships,” which released Hot 97 radio host Peter Rosenberg dubbed him “Not Real Hip-Hop” and caused Minaj to drop out of the station’s annual Summer Jam.

But out of Minaj’s 10 Grammy nominations, she has competed in pop music only once – for Best Duo/Group Performance with “Bang Bang” alongside Ariana Grande and Jessie J. pink friday And the The Pink PrintBest Rap Song for Anaconda and Best Rap Performance for Moment 4 Life and Truffle Butter.

“Super Freaky Girl” in a similar company to Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts”: The rapper’s hit single topped the Billboard rap chart for 13 weeks and eventually led the Hot 100 chart of all genres for seven weeks, but it didn’t compete in the Grammy’s rap categories. Instead, it was nominated – and won – as Best Pop Solo Performance on The 2020 Show.

Other songs that feature rap elements that have competed for best pop solo performance include Doja Cat, which includes her vocals and rap, and Post Malone’s Better Now, which combines hip-hop, alternative sounds, and pop.

Collaborative songs that topped Billboard’s rap chart but competed for best duo/group performance at the Grammys include Iggy Azalea, Charli XCX’s Fancy, Wiz Khalifa, Charlie Puth’s “See You Again”, Lil Nas X, and Billy Ray Cyrus “Old” Town Road”, who received this honor in 2020.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were originally kicked out of the Grammys rap when the duo hit smash hits Thrift Shop and Can’t Hold Us at the 2014 show, but that decision was later overturned — and heavily criticized — when the group swept the Grammys rap, outstripping the Kendrick Lamar and others – a decision that even Macklemore denounced. As a result, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis did not submit their second album to compete with the Grammy at the 2017 show.