A clerical error is reportedly to blame to the omission of Drake’s smash hit Hotline Bling from this year’s 2016 Grammy Award nominations.
Snakes and dragons move aside, 2015 has been the Year of the Drake. A surprise album and a surprise mixtape with Future just scratch the surface of the impact Drizzy has made on pop culture this year. Hotline Bling, and its subsequent video, memes, gifs, remixes and endless covers from Erykah Badu, Sufjan Stevens, Justin Bieber, Art of Sleeping and more have earned him an eternal place in musical history.
So, when the list of Grammy nominees was released this week, the question on everyone’s lips was “Where the hell is Hotline Bling?”
It seems the omission comes due to logistical complications as oppose to a bias against catchy pop-rap hooks with triple servings of cheese.
According to HitsDailyDouble, the song was not shortlisted due to, “a clerical error on the part of label Cash Money Records.”
It’s a small hiccup for Drake, with nominations for Best Rap Performance (Back to Back, Truffle Butter), Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (Only), Best Rap Song (Energy) and Best Rap Album (If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late). View the full list of nominations here.
Interestingly, the incident is but the latest in a string of issues surrounding Cash Money. In Lil Wayne’s lawsuit against the company, claims were made that Cash Money had not paid Wayne’s own company Young Money (a Cash Money imprint), for Drake’s previous releases, Nothing Was The Same, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late and the recent What A Time To Be Alive.
Drizzy’s frustrations with the label could also be entering his music, with throw away lines, like “Envelopes comin’ in the mail, let her open ’em/ Hopin’ for a check again, ain’t no tellin’.” (No Tellin’)