The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards,[1] to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by The Recording Academy 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".[2]
| Grammy Award for Best R&B Album | |
|---|---|
 Mutt by Leon Thomas is the most recent recipient | |
| Awarded for | Quality R&B music albums |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences |
| First award | 1995 |
| Currently held by | Leon Thomas, Mutt (2026) |
| Website | grammy.com |
According to the category description guide for the 54th Grammy Awards, the award is reserved for albums "containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded contemporary R&B vocal tracks" which may also "incorporate production elements found in rap music".[3]
From 2003 to 2011, a separate category was formed, the Best Contemporary R&B Album, meant for R&B albums that had modern hip-hop stylings to them, while more traditional and less electronic-styled R&B music still fell under the Best R&B Album category. After the 2011 Grammy season, the Best Contemporary R&B Album category was discontinued and recordings that previously fell under this category were shifted back to the Best R&B Album category. This was part of a major overhaul of the Grammy Award categories.[4] In 2013, a sister category titled Best Progressive R&B Album, then titled Best Urban Contemporary Album was debuted.
The award goes to the artist, producer and engineer/mixer, provided they are credited with at least 50% of playing time on the album. The lead performing artist is the only one who receives the official nomination and they receive a statuette on the night of the telecast. The producer and engineer/mixer, however, are determined after the telecast and will have to wait before they receive their statuette. This process may take up to several months - the winning producers and engineers/mixers of the 2024 Grammy winner Chris Brown's 11:11 (Deluxe) still remain undetermined as of February 2026. A producer or engineer who is responsible for less than 50% of playing time, as well as the mastering engineer, can apply for a Winners Certificate.[5] Before 2001, only the performing artist received a nomination and/or an award.
Alicia Keys and John Legend are the biggest recipients in this category with three wins. TLC, D'Angelo, Robert Glasper, and Chris Brown have won the award twice. Mary J. Blige holds the record for the most nominations, with six in total. In 2015, Norwegian singer Bern/hoft became the first non-American artist to be nominated.
Recipients
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1990s
edit2000s
edit2010s
edit2020s
edit| Year[I] | Work | Performing artist(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 [30] |
Ventura | Anderson .Paak |
| 1123 | BJ the Chicago Kid | |
| Ella Mai | Ella Mai | |
| Painted | Lucky Daye | |
| Paul | PJ Morton | |
| 2021 [31] |
Bigger Love | John Legend |
| All Rise | Gregory Porter | |
| Happy 2 Be Here | Ant Clemons | |
| Take Time | Giveon | |
| To Feel Love/d | Luke James | |
| 2022 [32] |
Heaux Tales | Jazmine Sullivan |
| Back of My Mind | H.E.R. | |
| Gold-Diggers Sound | Leon Bridges | |
| Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies | Snoh Aalegra | |
| We Are | Jon Batiste | |
| 2023 [33] |
Black Radio III | Robert Glasper |
| Breezy (Deluxe) | Chris Brown | |
| Candydrip | Lucky Daye | |
| Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe) | Mary J. Blige | |
| Watch the Sun | PJ Morton | |
| 2024 | Jaguar II | Victoria Monét |
| Clear 2: Soft Life EP | Summer Walker | |
| Girls Night Out | Babyface | |
| Special Occasion | Emily King | |
| What I Didn't Tell You (Deluxe) | Coco Jones | |
| 2025 [34] |
11:11 (Deluxe) | Chris Brown |
| Algorithm | Lucky Daye | |
| Coming Home | Usher | |
| Revenge | Muni Long | |
| Vantablack | Lalah Hathaway | |
| 2026 [35] |
Mutt | Leon Thomas |
| Beloved | Giveon | |
| The Crown | Ledisi | |
| Escape Room | Teyana Taylor | |
| Why Not More? | Coco Jones | |
^[I] Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.
Artists with multiple wins
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Artists with multiple nominations
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See also
editReferences
edit- General
- "Past Winners Search". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- Specific
- ↑ "Grammy Awards at a Glance". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
- ↑ "Overview". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ↑ "54th Grammy category: Best R&B Album". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ↑ "Full Category List". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. 2011. Archived from the original on April 8, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ↑ "Grammy Blue Book (edition 2021)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
- 1 2 "Past Winners Search". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ↑ "List of Grammy nominees". CNN. January 4, 1996. Archived from the original on December 7, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ↑ Kot, Greg (January 8, 1997). "Pumpkins A Smash With 7 Grammy Nominations". Chicago Tribune. p. 12. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Complete List of Academy Voter Picks". Los Angeles Times. January 8, 1998. p. 15. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ Kot, Greg (January 6, 1999). "10 Nominations Put Lauryn Hill Atop Grammy Heap". Chicago Tribune. p. 10. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Santana Tops List With 10 Grammy Nominations". The Seattle Times. January 5, 2000. Archived from the original on October 28, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
- ↑ "43rd Grammy Awards". CNN. February 21, 2001. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ↑ "Complete List Of Grammy Nominees". CBS News. January 4, 2002. Archived from the original on October 10, 2003. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ↑ "Complete list of Grammy nominees; ceremony set for Feb. 23". San Francisco Chronicle. January 8, 2003. p. 3. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ↑ "Grammy Award nominees in top categories". USA Today. December 7, 2004. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ↑ "Complete list of Grammy Award nominations". USA Today. December 8, 2005. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ↑ "Winners and Nominees: Major Categories". People. February 9, 2007. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ↑ "2008 Grammy Award Winners and Nominees". The New York Times. February 9, 2008. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ↑ "Grammy 2009 Winners List". MTV. Viacom. February 8, 2009. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ↑ Bruno, Mike (May 15, 2011). "Grammy Awards 2010: The winners list". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
- ↑ "Grammy Nominees 2011". AOL Music. Archived from the original on February 6, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ↑ "2011 - 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominees And Winners: R&B Field". The Recording Academy. November 30, 2011. Archived from the original on July 1, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
- ↑ List of 2013 nominees Archived 2012-02-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "2014 Nominees" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-16. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
- ↑ "List of Nominees 2015" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-02-11. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
- ↑ "Billboard.com, 7 December 2015". Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ↑ Unterberger, Andrew (6 December 2016). "Here Is the Complete List of Nominees for the 2017 Grammys". Billboard. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ↑ Lynch, Joe (November 28, 2017). "Grammys 2018: See the Complete List of Nominees". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 28, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ↑ "Grammy.com, 7 December 2018". Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ↑ "Grammy.com, 22 November 2019". Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ↑ "2021 Nominations List" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-11-29. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
- ↑ "2022 Nominations List". Archived from the original on 2021-11-25. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
- ↑ "2023 Nominations List". Archived from the original on 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
- ↑ Monroe, Jazz (2024-11-08). "Grammy Nominations 2025: See the Full List Here". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- ↑ Willman, Chris (2025-11-07). "Grammy Nominations 2026: Kendrick Lamar Leads With Nine as Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and Leon Thomas Land Among Top Nominees". Variety. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
External links
edit- Official site of the Grammy Awards Archived 2014-05-07 at the Wayback Machine