Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Almost Banned From Rap Category At The Grammys

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis apparently almost didn't make it into the rap categories of the Grammys.

The Grammys finally go down this weekend, on Sunday January 27th, so there's plenty of Grammy discussion going down these past few days both rap-related and not.  In the rap sphere, the competition is stiff, mainly divided between Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Jay Z. Of course, Kanye West and J. Cole, among other rappers, also received nods this year.

However the category people are contemplating most seems to be if Macklemore & Ryan Lewis will take home Best Rap Album-- up against the likes of K. Dot, Jay Z, Yeezus, and Drake. The hip-hop community at large seems to be on the side of good kid, m.A.A.d city, but only time will tell if the Grammy committee feels the same. As it turns out, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis almost didn't make the Rap nominated categories, because they were deemed TOO mainstream, having one of the biggest pop songs of the year, "Thrift Shop."

A source tells AP that the rap committee put together by the Grammys was leaning towards not including The Heist duo in any rap categories. "Because of the controversy with them as a rap group it became something the entire Grammy committee discussed," the source said. After they debated whether or not to include Macklemore & Ryan Lewis in rap, they met again a week later with the general Grammy committee (including members from all genres of music), where they listened to the album and determined which category it belongs in. Obviously the final decision was to include it in rap categories, however, it was apparently a landslide vote.

"It's not that they don't think he's a rapper," the source said of the rap committee's decision. "It's just that when you're trying to protect categories and someone has become popular, it should be judged as much. ... Where does their music exist? Who are their fans?"