Yesterday, the 2022 Libera Awards nominees were announced, with over 190 nominees across 33 categories. There’s some fierce competition in the Best Hip-Hop / Rap Record category presented by Virgin Music.
The nominees are:
- Injury Reserve – By the Time I Get to Phoenix (Self-Released/Stem)
- Joyner Lucas & J. Cole – “Your Heart” (Twenty Nine Music Group)
- Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (AWAL)
- Mick Jenkins – Elephant In The Room (Cinematic Music Group/Ingrooves)
- Mykki Blanco – Broken Hearts and Beauty Sleep (Transgressive/[PIAS])
- Young M.A – “Off the Yak” (M.A Music/3D)
Of note: The Best Hip-Hop / Rap Record category has two singles nominated and four full-length projects, which is the same sort of setup that the JUNO Awards had with their Rap Recording of the Year category until just recently. Now they’ve got two categories, one for the best single and one for the best project. Hopefully the Libera Awards will consider going the same route.
The Best R&B Record category is equally as competitive, with both old and new faces squaring off for the award.
The nominees are:
- Brittany Howard – Jaime (Reimagined) (ATO Records)
- Charlotte Day Wilson – ALPHA (Stone Woman Music Inc.)
- Durand Jones & The Indications – Private Space (Dead Oceans)
- Hiatus Kaiyote – Mood Valiant (Brainfeeder / Ninja Tune)
- serpentwithfeet – DEACON (Secretly Canadian)
- Tkay Maidza – Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3 (4AD)
For more information, including the full list of nominees, visit the official Libera Awards website.