Hip-Hop Dominates Grammy Nominations
By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
AP Entertainment Writer

December 4, 2003, 11:14 PM CST

NEW YORK -- Rap and R&B have been consistent chart-toppers for the last few years, but in 2003 they took over pop music -- and the Grammy nominations on Thursday.

The year's top-selling artist: rapper 50 Cent. Two of the year's biggest hits came from R&B singer Beyonce. In October, every spot on Billboard's top 10 singles chart was held by a rap or R&B artist.

Grammy voters took notice, doling out six nominations each to Beyonce, Jay-Z, OutKast and Pharrell Williams.

"Hip-hop is at its most commercial point," Andre 3000 of the rap duo OutKast told The Associated Press. "It's pretty poppy, and it's popular this year."

Five nominations apiece went to Missy Elliott, Eminem, Evanescence, 50 Cent, Chad Hugo, Ricky Skaggs, Justin Timberlake, the ailing Luther Vandross and the late Warren Zevon.

Four of the five nominees for record of the year fell into the rap or R&B category: Beyonce's "Crazy in Love," "Where Is The Love," by The Black Eyed Peas & Justin Timberlake, "Lose Yourself," by Eminem and "Hey Ya!" from OutKast. The brooding rock group Coldplay's song "Clocks" was the only exception.

And rap and R&B also dominated the album of the year category: Missy Elliott's "Under Construction"; "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" by OutKast; and "Justified," from Timberlake, which had the former boy-band star reach into R&B for his first solo effort. The White Stripes' "Elephant" and "Fallen" from goth rockers Evanescence rounded out the category.

However, in somewhat of a surprise, 50 Cent's "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," which sold more than 6 million copies, was shut out of the major categories. It was nominated exclusively for rap awards, although 50 Cent himself was nominated for best new artist, along with Evanescence, R&B singer Heather Headley, the alt-pop group Fountains of Wayne and the dancehall artist Sean Paul.