The Recording Academy has officially unveiled their full list of nominations for the 2022 Grammy Awards. Notable musicians like Cardi B, Lil Nas X, and Justin Bieber are up for awards this year, but the ceremony also has categories for non-music albums, like the Best Spoken Word Album category. This year, the Grammy nominations for Best Spoken Word Album means that Dave Chappelle and Barack Obama are officially pitted against each other for the same award.
The 2022 Grammy nominations for Best Spoken World Album includes Dave Chappelle’s 8:46, Barack Obama’s A Promised Land, LeVar Burton’s Aftermath, Don Cheadle’s Carry On: Reflections For A New Generation From John Lewis, and J. Ivy’s Catching Dreams: Live At Fort Knox Chicago.
If Chappelle wins, it would be his fourth straight year picking up a Grammy after winning in the Comedy Album category in 2018, 2019, and 2020. If Obama won the category, it would be the former president’s third time. He previously won a Grammy in the Spoken Word category in 2005 for Dreams From My Father (Senator Barack Obama) and 2007 for The Audacity Of Hope: Thoughts On Reclaiming The American Dream.
Chappelle’s nomination comes from his 2020 Netflix special, which has a title that references the murder of George Floyd by police. But the comedian’s recent 2021 special The Closer has been the source of much controversy since its release. The stand-up features several transphobic punchlines and even led to one trans Netflix employee resigning from the company.
See the full list of 2022 Grammy nominations here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.