Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl” Kicked Out of Grammy Rap Category, Will Compete in Pop (Exclusive) - Hollywood Reporter

Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl” is spending its eighth week connected apical of Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart, but astatine the Grammys, the opus volition vie successful the popular category.

Minaj primitively submitted the way — which debuted astatine No. 1 connected Billboard’s Hot 100 illustration successful August — to the rap categories astatine the Grammys, but the determination was overturned by the Recording Academy’s rap committee, according to a source. That radical determined that Minaj’s playful and pop-sounding opus sampling Rick James’ 1981 classical “Super Freak” should vie for champion popular solo show alternatively of rap awards.

Minaj criticized the determination connected societal media Thursday successful an Instagram video station and a bid of tweets. “They enactment moving the goalposts erstwhile it comes to me,” Minaj said connected IG astir the academy. “Why is the goalpost lone ever moved erstwhile it’s Nicki?’

Minaj besides said if “Super Freaky Girl” indispensable vie successful pop, truthful should Latto’s “Big Energy,” which is pop-leaning and samples Tom Tom Club’s 1981 opus “Genius of Love,” famously sampled by Mariah Carey for the No. 1 deed “Fantasy.”

“I person nary prob being moved retired the RAP class arsenic agelong arsenic we r ALL being treated FAIRLY,” she tweeted. “If SFG (Super Freaky Girl) has 2B moved retired RAP past truthful does Big Energy! ANY1 who says diff is simply a Nicki hater oregon a troll.”

Latto’s “Big Energy” spent 2 weeks astatine No. 1 connected Billboard’s rap illustration and peaked astatine No. 3 connected the all-genre Hot 100 chart. At the Grammys, “Big Energy” volition vie for rap Grammys, not pop.

A typical for The Recording Academy did not reply to an email seeking comment.

Nominees for the 2023 Grammys volition beryllium announced connected Nov. 15, and the unrecorded telecast volition aerial connected Feb. 5, 2023, on CBS. Voting for the archetypal circular of nominees begins Thursday and ends connected Oct. 23.

Minaj has released a fig of popular and hip-hop hits passim the years that diagnostic her rapping oregon singing — sometimes some connected the aforesaid track. Her debut solo single, 2010’s “Your Love,” was pop-adjacent with its illustration of Annie Lennox’s 1995 screen mentation of “No More I Love You’s,” and Minaj has released other pop-heavy songs similar “Super Bass” and “Starships,” which Hot 97 vigor big Peter Rosenberg famously dubbed “not existent hip-hop” and caused Minaj to propulsion retired of the station’s yearly Summer Jam concert.

But of Minaj’s 10 Grammy nominations, she’s lone competed successful popular erstwhile — for champion popular duo/group show with “Bang Bang” alongside Ariana Grande and Jessie J. The bulk of her Grammy nominations person been successful rap, including champion rap medium for Pink Friday and The Pinkprint, champion rap opus for “Anaconda” and champion rap show for “Moment 4 Life” and “Truffle Butter.”

“Super Freaky Girl” is successful akin institution to Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts”: The singer-rapper’s breakthrough way topped Billboard’s rap illustration for 13 weeks and yet led the all-genre Hot 100 illustration for 7 weeks, but it didn’t vie successful the rap categories astatine the Grammys. Instead, it was nominated — and won — champion popular solo show astatine the 2020 show.

Other songs that diagnostic rap elements that person competed for champion popular solo show see Doja Cat’s “Say So,” which includes her singing and rapping, and Post Malone’s “Better Now,” which meshes hip-hop, alternate and popular sounds.

Collaborative songs that topped Billboard’s rap illustration but competed for champion popular duo/group show astatine the Grammys see Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX’s “Fancy,” Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again” and Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road,” which won the grant successful 2020.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were primitively kicked retired of the rap Grammys erstwhile the duo had a breakthrough with the hits “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us” astatine the 2014 show. But that determination was aboriginal overturned — and heavy criticized — erstwhile the radical swept the rap Grammys, besting Kendrick Lamar and others — a determination adjacent Macklemore denounced. As a result, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis didn’t taxable their sophomore medium for Grammy contention astatine the 2017 show.