Key Takeaways

• Best New Artist is a Grammy Award nomination that has spotlighted major rap and R&B talent.
• Several nominees, including SZA and Jazmine Sullivan, didn’t win but still made lasting cultural impact.
• The list shows how the Grammys have both celebrated and overlooked rising Black voices in Hip Hop and R&B.

Artists like Chris Brown, Lizzo, Anderson .Paak, and SZA have collected plenty of Grammys over the years. However, if there’s one category that consistently slips away from many of our fan-favorite rap and R&B talent, it’s Best New Artist.

The award actually has a few eligibility requirements that make it unique. For instance, according to the Recording Academy, being previously considered for Best New Artist three times, whether solo or with a group, would render an artist ineligible.

As we covered in part one, Chance The Rapper, Megan Thee Stallion, and Victoria Monét are among the few who actually took the award home. Plenty of others stopped at the nomination stage, like Lil Nas X, Boyz II Men, and Ashanti, to name a few.

With that said, here are 19 more rap and R&B artists who’ve been nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards. Check them out below.

1. Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X was up for the award in 2020, alongside Billie Eilish and Lizzo. He was fresh off a massive year that gave us “Panini” and the Billy Ray Cyrus remix of “Old Town Road,” which did walk away with something: Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

2. Boyz II Men

You could say the early ’90s didn’t always give R&B artists the fairest shake at certain mainstream award shows. However, Boyz II Men landed a Best New Artist nomination in 1992, and that recognition alone says a lot.

3. Chris Brown

Chris Brown was nominated for the category in 2007, though Carrie Underwood ultimately took the win. His self-titled debut album was also up for Best Contemporary R&B Album.

4. Ashanti

For the 2003 ceremony, Ashanti was nominated alongside Avril Lavigne, John Mayer, and Norah Jones, who ultimately won.

5. Saweetie

Saweetie in the same category as Baby Keem, The Kid LAROI, and Olivia Rodrigo? The “good 4 u” singer eventually won, but the 2022 Grammys still gave us plenty to appreciate for Hip Hop.

6. SWV

As mentioned before, Toni Braxton won Best New Artist in 1994. One group that came close to giving the “Un-Break My Heart” singer real competition that year was SWV.

7. John Legend

John Legend won the first three of his many Grammys in 2006. That year, he took home Best New Artist, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for “Ordinary People,” and Best R&B Album for Get Lifted.

“Thank you! I got some people I forgot last time. I’d like to thank God, first of all. I’d like to thank my family. A lot of my family is here from Springfield, Ohio. Much love to y’all,” Legend said during his acceptance speech. He also gave a shout-out to Kanye West, will.i.am, and more.

8. Jazmine Sullivan

Jazmine Sullivan scored five nominations at the 2009 Grammys, but for reasons we’ll never understand, she left empty-handed. Best New Artist ended up going to Adele — and hey, she went on to have an incredible career — but the “Girl Like Me” singer earned two Grammys more than a decade later for Heaux Tales and one of its standout singles.

9. Lizzo

Lizzo entered the 2020 Grammy Awards as the most-nominated artist of the year, an accomplishment worth celebrating by itself. She didn’t leave with Best New Artist, but the Cuz I Love You creator still went home with three other wins that night.

10. Nicki Minaj

“Who wanna play with Nicki?” The Queen rapper was in the running for the category in 2012, which ultimately went to Bon Iver, mentioned in part one — a surprising win over Minaj for many.

11. Khalid

Along with American Teen earning a Best Urban Contemporary Album nomination, Khalid was also competing for Best New Artist in 2018.

12. Doja Cat

Let the record show that there were not one, but three women in rap were up for Best New Artist in 2021. Even though some people like to box Doja Cat in as pop, her catalog definitely says otherwise. Genre debates aside, it was great to see her compete alongside Megan Thee Stallion and Chika.

13. Shaboozey

The Grammys seemingly didn’t know what to do with Black country artists who blend genres like rap and R&B before Beyoncé’s COWBOY CARTER. Shaboozey, who was coming off “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and collaborating with Queen Bey on “SWEET HONEY BUCKIIN',” was nominated for Best New Artist in 2025.

14. Lil Uzi Vert

Lil Uzi Vert was up for Best New Artist in 2018, which in hindsight felt a little late considering we already had “Money Longer,” “You Was Right,” and their show-stopping verse on Migos’ “Bad and Boujee” two years earlier. That said, “XO Tour Llif3” exploding the way it did in 2017 gave them a strong case for the nomination the following year.

15. Anderson .Paak

Anderson .Paak was another act up for the award in 2017, the same year Chance the Rapper won. He went on a serious winning streak in the years that followed, so it all worked out in the end.

16. SZA

Another 2018 Best New Artist nominee, SZA lost to Alessia Cara. Sadly, Ctrl and gems like “Love Galore” and “The Weekend” didn’t pick up wins that year either.

17. Sisqó

Sisqó had a lot of momentum thanks to “Incomplete” and “Thong Song,” which likely helped him land a Best New Artist nomination for the 2001 ceremony. Shelby Lynne ended up taking the win, though.

18. Iggy Azalea

Yes, Iggy Azalea was up for the award in 2015. “Fancy” with Charli XCX also scored nominations for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

19. D Smoke

Yet another incredibly talented artist nominated for the award, D Smoke was in the running in 2021. His album Black Habits also landed in the Best Rap Album category.