Drake Withholds Iceman, Habibti, Maid of Honour From 2027 Grammys

What Happened: Three Albums, Zero Submissions

According to a report from Billboard cited by Rolling Stone, Drake's trio of 2026 albums — *Iceman*, *Habibti*, and *Maid of Honour* — will not be submitted for consideration at the 2027 Grammys. These are his first solo releases in the wake of the great 2024 rap feud with Kendrick Lamar, and per Rolling Stone they held steady on the charts all summer. Consequence lists the opt-out in its updating tracker of artists sitting out the February 7, 2027 ceremony, which covers music released between August 31, 2025 and August 28, 2026.

SourcesRolling Stone Consequence of Sound Rolling Stone India

Why It's Surprising: He Said It in a Rhyme

The twist a hip-hop fan will savor: Drake appears to have foreshadowed the decision on wax. On the *Iceman* closing track 'Make Them Know,' he raps 'This album, I'm never submittin' it,' as both Rolling Stone and Consequence note. *Iceman* wasn't a marginal record either — Rolling Stone reports it broke Drake's previous record for the longest run at No. 1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, surpassing *Take Care*'s 12-week run. Choosing to bench a chart-record album from awards contention is the kind of reversal that makes the opt-out read as a statement, not an oversight.

SourcesRolling Stone Consequence of Sound Rolling Stone India

The Context: Feud, Lawsuit and a Pattern

The timing lands amid Drake's ongoing litigation with his label UMG, which he alleges promoted Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' despite allegedly defamatory lyrics; Rolling Stone reports a federal judge dismissed the suit last year and his team filed an appeal, with oral arguments set for December. 'Not Like Us' famously won five Grammys in 2025. This is also a long-standing pattern: Rolling Stone notes Drake declined to submit *More Life* in 2018, withdrew *Certified Lover Boy* in 2022 and *Honestly, Nevermind* the following year, while *Her Loss* was submitted in 2024 and lost Best Rap Album to Killer Mike's *Michael*.

SourcesRolling Stone Rolling Stone India

The Evidence: A Tracker of Boycotts

Consequence's updating rundown documents that Drake is far from alone in withholding music from the 2027 Grammys. BTS announced in July they would not submit their 2026 comeback album *ARIRANG*, saying they hope music 'can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided into region or language,' a protest tied to the new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category. Stray Kids also did not submit their EP *This & That*, with label JYP Entertainment simply telling the BBC, 'Stray Kids did not submit for the Grammys.' Consequence notes Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. confirmed the contested category will remain in place for 2027.

SourcesConsequence of Sound

The Stakes: Hip-Hop's Empty Chair

Billboard's deeper look argues the bigger story is that hip-hop may have no one to carry the torch in the 2027 general categories. After Kendrick Lamar won five Grammys for *GNX* and 'Luther' — making him the first solo male artist to win record of the year in consecutive years — there are no major eligible releases from Lamar, Clipse or Tyler, The Creator. Billboard reports the R&B/hip-hop genre's Billboard 200 market share fell from 40% to 30%, and in October 2025 the Hot 100 had no rap songs in the top 40 for the first time since 1990. Academy member Riggs Morales calls it a 'transitional' period for the genre.

SourcesBillboard

What Comes Next: Rocky, Toliver and the Watchlist

Billboard's reporting points to A$AP Rocky, whose first album in nearly eight years, *Don't Be Dumb*, topped the Billboard 200 in January, as a potential general-field contender; Academy member Chris Anokute tells Billboard, 'A$AP Rocky, to me, made the album of the year.' Don Toliver's *OCTANE* and his 25-week top-40 hit 'E85' also surface as contenders, though Morales cautions rising rappers typically need four to six years to become household names with Grammy voters.

SourcesBillboard Consequence of Sound

Sources

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