Kendrick Lamar leads 2016 Grammy Awards nominations

Taylor Swift, The Weeknd and Alabama Shakes are also in the running

Kendrick Lamar has been nominated for 11 Grammy Awards ahead of next year’s LA ceremony.

The rapper, whose album ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ was voted Number Two in NME’s Albums Of The Year poll for 2015, is up for album of the year and song of the year for ‘Alright’.

His other nominations include best rap album, rap performance, pop duo/group performance for ‘Bad Blood’ with Taylor Swift and dance recording for ‘Never Catch Me’ with Flying Lotus. He’s nominated twice for both best rap song with ‘Alright’ and for co-writing Kanye West’s ‘All Day’, as well as best music video.

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“It’s a testimony to his artistry,” Recording Academy CEO Neil Portow said of Lamar’s nominations. “He’s someone that’s very serious about his art and about his craft, and has been working it for quite some time. And this is one of those instances where the work pays off.”

NMEJordan Hughes/NME

Lamar is followed by Swift and The Weeknd, who are both up for seven nominations each including album of the year.

Rapper Drake scored five nominations including best rap album, while Alabama Shakes have four nominations: album of the year for ‘Sound & Color’, alternative music album, rock performance and rock song for ‘Don’t Wanna Fight’.

“There’s a broad spectrum and certainly it shows there’s been quite a bit of wonderful and excellent recordings in the last year,” Portow told The Associated Press.

Pharrell Williams and West are also nominated for four awards, including album of the year for producing songs on Lamar’s album. West’s nominations include best rap song and rap performance for ‘All Day’, which features Paul McCartney and earned the icon two rap nominations.

The 58th Grammys will air live on February 15, 2016 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

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For more information on the nominees, head to grammy.com.

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