Charlotte rapper DaBaby is among several North Carolina artists who were nominated for 2020 Grammy Awards Wednesday.
DaBaby's hit song "Suge" was nominated for best rap performance and best rap song. The latter nomination shares songwriting credits with Jetsonmade and Pooh Beatz. DaBaby is known for his fast rapping skills and humorous performances, and he's released two albums this year – "Baby On Baby" and "Kirk."
"Fresh Air" rock critic Ken Tucker recently called "Kirk" one of the year's best hip-hop albums.
Rhiannon Giddens, meanwhile, was nominated along with Francesco Turrisi in the best American roots performance category for the song "I'm On My Way." Giddens, a Greensboro native, rose to fame as a member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and has released three solo albums.
She spoke with WFAE's Tommy Tomlinson for "SouthBound" before a September performance at Charlotte's McGlohon Theater with Turrisi.
She's outspoken about her Carolina roots.
"I realized that was my identity. It's not a black or white or mixed person, it's a Southerner – a North Carolinian," Giddens told Tomlinson.
Giddens has been nominated for Grammy Awards before and won the 2011 award for best traditional folk album with Carolina Chocolate Drops.
And J. Cole, who grew up in Fayetteville, was nominated for best rap performance for the song "Middle Child." He got a second nod in the same category for "Down Bad" along with J.I.D., Bas, Earthgang and Young Nudy.
Additionally, "Revenge of the Dreamers III," a compilation album by J. Cole and his record label Dreamville, was nominated for best rap album and includes contributions from a handful of artists, including Charlotte rapper Lute.
Like Giddens, Cole has been nominated several times for Grammys. The hip-hop star is well known for his connections to North Carolina. He launched the sold-out Dreamville Festival — which shares a name with his record label — in Raleigh earlier this year. And Cole was in Charlotte in February, when he performed during the NBA All-Star Game at the Spectrum Center wearing a retro Hornets jacket.
Caldwell County native Eric Church also landed two Grammy nominations – best country song for "Some Of It" (along with Clint Daniels, Jeff Hyde and Bobby Pinson) and best country album for "Desperate Man." He's also been nominated several times for Grammys in the past.
You can see the whole list of nominations for the 62nd Grammy Awards here. All nominations focused on work released between Oct. 1, 2018, and Aug. 31, 2019.
Dig music? Be sure to check out "Amplifer," WFAE's music podcast that highlights artists who call Charlotte home. New episodes come out every two weeks.
