Drake did not submit any of his three 2026 albums for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards, according to Billboard.
Sources told Billboard that the rapper also did not submit any songs from Iceman, Habibti, or Maid of Honour to the Recording Academy.
Billboard reported the detail on Monday (October 5), in a feature examining hip-hop’s chances in the Grammys’ general field categories.
Drake released the three albums simultaneously on May 15 via Republic Records/Universal Music Group.
The trio took the top three spots on the Billboard 200 in their debut week, with Iceman at No. 1, Habibti at No. 2, and Maid of Honour at No. 3.
No act had done that before in the chart’s weekly history, which dates back to March 1956.
Iceman earned 463,000 equivalent album units in the US in its first week, giving Drake his 15th Billboard 200 No. 1.
Billboard‘s report noted that, as of September, Drake was the only rapper to have reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist in 2026.
He placed nine songs in the top 10 during the debut week of Iceman.
The publication also pointed out that the Hot 100 dated October 25, 2025, had no rap songs in its top 40 for the first time since February 1990.
“This was a pretty weak year for standout [hip-hop] releases with storylines, with narratives,” Recording Academy member and record executive Riggs Morales told Billboard.
Billboard noted that Kendrick Lamar; Clipse; and Tyler, The Creator have no major releases eligible for the 2027 awards.
All three had albums nominated for Album of the Year at the 2026 Grammys.
Drake signaled the decision on Make Them Know, the closing track on Iceman, where he raps that he will not be submitting the album.
Drake has won five Grammys from 56 nominations, the first of them Best Rap Album for Take Care at the 2013 ceremony.
The rapper withdrew his nominations for Certified Lover Boy ahead of the 2022 Grammys.
Billboard has reported that he did not enter Honestly, Nevermind or any of its singles for the 2023 awards.
His 2023 album For All the Dogs was also not submitted, despite being eligible for the 2025 awards.
His collaborative projects have stayed in the race, with Her Loss, his joint album with 21 Savage, submitted for Album of the Year and Best Rap Album at the 2024 awards.
He also shared the Best Melodic Rap Performance award at the 2023 ceremony for his feature on Future‘s Wait for U.
Most recently, Somebody Loves Me, his collaboration with PartyNextDoor, was nominated in the same category at the 2026 awards.
Drake last attended the Grammys in 2019, when he won Best Rap Song for God’s Plan.
Accepting the award, he told the audience that “we play in an opinion-based sport, not a factual-based sport.”
Iceman, Habibti, and Maid of Honour were Drake‘s first solo albums since his 2024 feud with Kendrick Lamar.
Lamar’s diss track Not Like Us won five Grammys at the 2025 ceremony, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
Lamar won a further five in 2026, including Best Rap Album for GNX and Record of the Year for Luther, a collaboration with SZA.
Drake sued Universal Music Group in January 2025 over the release and promotion of Not Like Us.
Both rappers release music through UMG, with Drake signed to Republic Records and Lamar to Interscope.
Judge Jeannette Vargas of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the defamation suit on October 9, 2025.
Drake’s appeal is set for oral argument before the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on December 4.
Drake is not the only artist sitting out the 2027 Grammys.
BTS announced on July 29 that they would not submit music for consideration, keeping their album ARIRANG out of contention.
The HYBE-signed group’s decision came weeks after the Recording Academy unveiled a new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category on June 16.
The members did not name the category in their Instagram posts, but said they hoped music could be appreciated on its own terms, “rather than being divided by region or language.”
BTS have yet to win a Grammy, despite being nominated five times at three ceremonies.
Stray Kids followed, with label JYP Entertainment confirming on October 2 that the group had not entered any music before the August 21 deadline.
“Stray Kids did not submit for the Grammys,” JYP told the BBC.
The group topped the Billboard 200 for the ninth time in August, with This & That.
JYP‘s confirmation came a day after Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. said the Asian Pop category would go ahead at the 2027 awards.
Mason had said in August that the Academy was reconsidering the award.
“We understand this conclusion will not satisfy everyone, and that never feels good,” Mason said in his October 1 statement.
Nominations for the 69th Grammy Awards will be announced on November 16, ahead of the ceremony on February 7, 2027.Music Business Worldwide
