Ranking the nominees for Best Rap Album at the 2025 Grammy awards

The 67th Grammy Awards are this Sunday night, making it the perfect time to look back at the five projects that earned a nomination for Best Rap Album. While some of these albums are more worthy of the nomination than others, there is quality to be found within each of these projects. Let's rank the five nominees from worst to best in anticipation of Sunday's ceremony.

5. The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grace) by Eminem

The 12th studio album in Eminem’s legendary discography turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Considering Eminem’s recent track record, expectations for this project were not very high. And while The Death of Slim Shady is far from a perfect album, it is arguably the best solo project that Eminem has released since 2010’s Recovery.

Songs like “Fuel,” “Antichrist,” and “Renaissance” rank among the best tracks that Eminem has put out in the past decade and a half. With that being said, it is still the weakest of the five nominees. 

4. Might Delete Later by J. Cole

J. Cole dropped this surprise mixtape in the aftermath of Kendrick Lamar dissing him and Drake on the song “Like That,” only to end up deleting his response “7 Minute Drill” from streaming services and issuing a public apology to Kendrick at the Dreamville Festival. This project has garnered a lot of scrutiny due to its connection to the feud, some of which is unwarranted and excessive.

There are many great songs on the mixtape that are up to J. Cole’s usual standard, such as “Crocodile Tearz,” “Huntin’ Wabbitz,” “Trae The Truth in Ibiza,” and more. Overall, it’s a good project that has become too overhated.

3. The Auditorium Vol. 1 by Common & Pete Rock

This album is proof that Common is still very capable of dropping quality projects over 30 years into his career. Paired with producer Pete Rock, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest producers in hip-hop history, Common delivers great rapping performances throughout the album.

With a total of 15 songs and a length of just over an hour and two minutes, the tracklist stays consistent from start to finish without dipping in quality along the way. It’s a very strong project that is worthy of the nomination.

2. We Don’t Trust You by Future & Metro Boomin

Like Might Delete Later, We Don’t Trust You will forever be synonymous for its role in 2024’s legendary hip-hop feud between Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole. However, it will be viewed in a much more positive light than Cole’s project. Distancing the album from its impact on the hip-hop landscape, it remains a great album that should be ranked among the best hip-hop projects released in 2024.

It is safe to say that there was not a single trap album released in 2024 that was better than We Don't Trust You. Aside from ''Like That,'' the tracklist was loaded with some of the year’s biggest bangers in songs like “Young Metro,” “Type S--t,” “Cinderella,” and the album’s title track, “We Don’t Trust You.” It was an easy decision for this to be included among the nominees.

1. Alligator Bites Never Heal by Doechii

Despite having previously released several mixtapes and EPs, Alligator Bites Never Heal was the project that cemented Doechii as a star in the making. The 47-minute long mixtape continually showcases Doechii’s impressive skill set and range, while also signaling her arrival into the mainstream.

The project is a breezy listen that is packed with fun and memorable songs such as “Denial Is a River” and “Nissan Altima,” among many others. Of the five nominees, this mixtape stands out as the most unique and refreshing experience, offering a level of energy and charisma unmatched by most releases in 2024. Doechii deserves to take home the award on Sunday night.