I pull up to the Grammys with my ceiling missing…

Two nights ago, a young Taylor Swift and a weirdly even younger LL Cool J announced this year’s Grammy nominees. Let’s take a look at the rap categories, there are some surprises.

Best Rap Performance
“HYFR (Hell Ya F***ing Right)” – Drake featuring Lil Wayne
“Ni**as in Paris” – Jay-Z & Kanye West
“Daughters” – Nas
“Mercy” – Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
“I Do” – Young Jeezy featuring Jay-Z & André 3000

Surprisingly all very good choices, though I think “HYFR” is one of the weaker choices on Take Care. I suspect “Ni**as in Paris” will take it.

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
“Wild Ones” – Flo Rida featuring Sia
“No Church in the Wild” – Jay-Z and Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean & The-Dream
“Tonight (Best You Ever Had)” – John Legend featuring Ludacris
“Cherry Wine” – Nas featuring Amy Winehouse
“Talk That Talk” – Rihanna featuring Jay-Z

I wasn’t familiar with the Flo-Rida song, I checked it out and it sounds like every other Flo-Rida song ever. This award will likely be between “No Church..” and “Cherry Wine.” I really didn’t dig “No Church…”, but after a months of those Dodge TV commercials, I’ve been brainwashed a bit. And I may be a little biased on “Cherry Wine”, because I really, really, love the late Ms. Winehouse. I think it is a beautiful song though.

Best Rap Song
“Daughters” – Nas
“Lotus Flower Bomb” – Wale feat. Miguel
“Mercy” – Kanye West feat. Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
“The Motto” – Drake feat. Lil Wayne
“Ni**as In Paris” – Jay-Z and Kanye West
“Young, Wild & Free” – Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa

Tough one. Maybe with the exception of “Daughters,” all of these were monster radio hits, almost to the point of nausea. Can’t call it…Well, since this category is about songwriting, I would love to see Nas get this one.

Best Rap Album
Take Care – Drake
Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album. Pt. 1 – Lupe Fiasco
Life Is Good – Nas
Undun – The Roots
God Forgives, I Don’t – Rick Ross
Based on a T.R.U. Story – 2 Chainz

Lupe, 2 Chainz and Ross made good albums. Nas and The Roots made awesome albums. But Take Care is musically something special, kind of a game changer. It’ll be hard to deny that impact. You better listen to me Grammys! *shakes fist violently*

We’ll see if my predictions are right when the Grammys air on February 10. Check back with us! In the meantime, I’m gonna try to get used to saying, “grammy-nominated 2 Chainz.”

charliedigital is a guest contributor to MusicandModeling.com. Find his random tweets and re-tweets on hip-hop, black culture, and technology @charliedigital