Drake, unlike a certain 24-time Grammy winner, has never gone so far as to share a video of himself pissing on one of his trophies. Still, his relationship with the Recording Academy has long been decidedly fraught.
Fans were again reminded of this upon word this week that the five-time Grammy winner had reportedly declined to submit his triad of 2026 albums—Iceman, Maid of Honour, and Habibti—for consideration at February’s ceremony.
The reported move marks a fulfillment of a vow Drake laid out on Iceman closer “Make Them Know,” like so:
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“This album, I'm never submittin' it / ‘Cause I know that they'll never consider it
This might be the one year I won / ‘Cause I know how they like to position it”
Seconds later in the track, Drake, though he never outright names the Grammys, alludes to them further while arguing that they “have no significance.”
News of Drake apparently skipping out on the 2027 ceremony is in line with how the 6 God has interacted with the institution in the past, including through his public support of The Weeknd, who brought his own Grammys boycott to an end in 2025.
But the history here goes even deeper. Below, we take a closer look.
Drake wins his first-ever Grammy thanks to Take Care
Though he already had multiple nominations to his name by this point, it wasn’t until the 2013 ceremony that Drake took home his first Grammys trophy. Take Care, widely cited as arguably among Drake’s strongest works, emerged victorious over fellow Best Rap Album nominees from Rick Ross and Lupe Fiasco, among others.
“Hotline Bling” scores two Grammys, but Drake says “I don’t even want them”
“Hotline Bling,” a superhit off Drake’s 2016 album Views, took home two wins at the 2017 Grammys ceremony: Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Performance. As Drake quickly pointed out at the time, the track “is not a rap song” and should instead be viewed through a pop lens.
“Even though ‘Hotline Bling’ is not a rap song, the only category they can manage to fit me in is a rap category,” Drake said during an interview with DJ Semtex. “Maybe because I’ve rapped in the past or because I’m Black. I can’t figure out why. I won two awards but I don’t even want them, because it just feels weird for some reason.”
Drake criticizes Grammys while accepting Best Rap Song win for “God’s Plan”
“God’s Plan,” another giant in Drake’s catalog, nabbed the Best Rap Song trophy at the 2019 Grammys. Drake made a surprise appearance at the ceremony to accept the award, using his time on the stage to drive home a message about what he feels is the true measure of success for artists.
“Look, if there’s people who have regular jobs who are coming out in the rain and the snow, spending their hard-earned money to buy tickets to come to your shows, you don’t need this right here,” Drake said in his speech, which was cut short on the broadcast. “I promise you. You already won.”
Shortly after the speech, producers were said to have detected “a natural pause” in Drake’s speech, prompting them to cut to commercial.
Certified Lover Boy earns nods, but Drake successfully asks for his work to be removed from consideration
When nominations for the 2022 Grammys ceremony were announced, Drake initially appeared twice among the lineup, including for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance. However, he and his team swiftly asked that those nominations be pulled, a request the Recording Academy honored.
Her Loss leads to even more nominations, and further criticism from Drake
Her Loss, Drake’s collab album with 21 Savage, led to multiple nominations (but zero wins) at the 2024 Grammys ceremony. When sharing a post from Complex to his Instagram Stories at the time, Drake reiterated his stance, arguing “this show doesn’t dictate shit in our world.”
The PARTYNEXTDOOR collab “Somebody Loves Me” stands as Drake’s most recent Grammy-nominated work
“Somebody Loves Me,” a PND and Drizzy collab off their joint $ome $exy $ongs 4 U project, landed in the Best Melodic Rap Performance category at this year’s Grammys ceremony. It ultimately lost to Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther.”
2027 Grammys nominations to be announced soon
The latest class of Grammys nominees will be unveiled on Nov. 16. The eligibility for the 2027 ceremony spans from Aug. 31, 2025 through Aug. 28, 2026. All three of Drake’s 2026 albums would have been eligible.
