It isn’t the first time the rapper has declined to submit for awards consideration
Drake’s trio of albums — Iceman, Habibti, and Maid of Honour — won’t be submitted for consideration in the 2026 Grammys, according to a report from Billboard. The projects, Drake’s first solo releases in the wake of the great 2024 rap feud between him and Kendrick Lamar, held steady on the charts all summer. Iceman in particular stood out, breaking Drake’s previous record for longest run at the top of Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, surpassing Take Care’s 12-week run.
Drake himself alludes to the decision not to submit the albums on Iceman, rapping “This album, I’m never submittin’ it,” on the album’s closing track ‘Make Them Know.” The move comes amidst Drake’s return to the public eye after his beef with Lamar as well as his ongoing litigation with his record label UMG, which alleges the label promoted the diss track “Not Like Us” despite allegedly defamatory lyrics. A federal judge dismissed his lawsuit last year and Drake’s team filed an appeal, with oral arguments set to start in December. “Not Like Us” was famously awarded five Grammys in 2025.
Even before any rap beef, Drake has made his ambivalence towards the Grammys well known, declining to submit More Life in 2018 and withdrawing the submission of Certified Lover Boy in 2022, and Honestly, Nevermind the following year. His joint album with 21 Savage, Her Loss, was indeed submitted for the 2024 ceremonies, though it lost Best Rap Album to Killer Mike’s Michael.
