The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists at the 31st Grammy Awards in 1989 and the 32nd Grammy Awards in 1990 and again from 2012 for quality rap performances. The Grammy Awards, an annual ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, are presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".
The first award for Best Rap Performance was first presented to DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (the vocal duo consisting of DJ Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith) for "Parents Just Don't Understand". The ceremony was not without controversy; nominees Jeff and Smith led a boycott in protest of the award presentation not being televised, and some members of the rap community felt that more qualified artists were overlooked. After the 1990 ceremony, where Young MC won the award, the category was split into Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
These two categories were once again combined from 2012, as a result of a restructure of Grammy categories. It was the consequence of the Recording Academy's wish to decrease the list of categories and awards and to eliminate the distinctions between solo and duo or group performances.
Read more about Grammy Award For Best Rap Performance: Background, History, Recipients
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