The 2012 Grammy Award nominations are out and many of the usual rap music suspects have been nominated for consideration. The award ceremony is set to air in February, and the nominations feature some classic rap artists against the industry’s young guns, along with a few surprises.

Something For Everyone

In the Best Rap Performance category, the nominees are:
• Black and Yellow – Wiz Khalifa
• Look At Me Now – Chris Brown
• Moment 4 Life – Nicki Minaj and Drake
• Otis – Jay-Z and Kanye West
• The Show Goes On – Lupe Fiasco

No major surprises but it’s notable that given the “Collaboration” category below, the Best Performance nods include two collaborations.

Speaking of working together, the nominees in the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category are:
• All of The Lights – Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi and Fergie
• I’m On One – DJ Khaled, Drake, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne
• I Need A Doctor – Dr. Dre, Eminem and Skylar Grey
• Motivation – Kelly Rowland and Lil Wayne
• Party – Beyonce and Andre 3000
• What’s My Name – Rihanna and Drake

Recognizing standout rap music songs is one thing you can count on from the Grammy Awards. The 2012 nominees for the Best Rap Song are:

• All of The Lights – Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi and Fergie
• Black and Yellow – Wiz Khalifa
• I Need A Doctor – Dr. Dre, Eminem and Skylar Grey
• Look At Me Now – Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes
• Otis – Jay-z and Kanye West
• The Show Gees On – Lupe Fiasco

The Kid Cudi nomination is a little unusual, given that Kid Cudi announced that he was leaving rap behind back in 2010. I guess he hasn’t gotten around to that, yet.

These nominees are a little disappointing, since these nominees were all recognized in either the Best Performance or Best Collaboration categories. There’s a lot more to rap music than just these tunes. The nominating committee could have done a better job on these categories.

Finally, the nominees for the Best Rap Album are:
• Lasers – Lupe Fiasco
• My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West
• Pink Friday – Nicki Minaj
• Tha Carter 4 (IV) – Lil Wayne
• Watch The Throne – Jay-Z and Kanye West

This list is also a little disappointing. There’s no nice way to say this: Lasers just doesn’t belong in this category. Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy definitely holds up to the hype and is poised (fairly) to win the category, but Pink Friday, which is mostly a C-level effort, ends up being, on the whole, only marginally better than the long-awaited Tha Carter IV, and not quite as good as Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne. The nominations leave out some more worthy contenders like Saigon’s The Greatest Story Never Told, Phonte’s Charity Starts At Home, All 6′s and 7′s by Tech N9ne and Royce da 5’9″ Success is Certain. Even Drake’s Take Care ends up being better than everyone nominated, except Kanye’s Fantasy.

If you’re thinking that you can do better than most of the nominees here, and you’re into making your own music, check out Sonic Producer and get your rap career in high gear!

Photo Credit: Jason Persse, via Flickr

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Producers announced earlier this month that it would honor hip-hop music pioneer Dr. Dre at the 23rd Annual Rhythm And Soul Music Awards dinner to be held on June 25. The event will feature R&B, hip hop, rap and gospel music performers, and will recognize the 2009 most played ASCAP songs from these genres.

Dr. Dre will be presented with the ASCAP Founders’ Award. The Founders Award recognizes musical artists whose career has inspired or influenced those of other performers. Previous Founders Award honorees include Garth Brooks, Berry Gordy, Paul McCartney, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder. Dr. Dre was a founding member of N.W.A., one of the first major rap groups, and later worked as a solo rap artist and rap music producer for acts like Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and 50 Cent.

Inspire Your Own Beats!

You can make a splash in the rap music scene by creating your own unique musical style. Record professional beats with Sonic Producer, one of the premiere beatmaking software packages available today. Sonic Producer contains hundreds of royalty-free sound samples that you can combine or recombine in any way you like. Exercise the ultimate creativity with Sonic Producer.

If you’re absolutely new to the music scene, Sonic Producer is right there to help! Tutorial videos are included with Sonic Producer that teach you how to use the software and make the most incredible beats! When you’ve got a sound you love, export it to MP3 and share it with your friends.

You retain the rights to everything you produce using Sonic Producer. Create the latest hit sound and you won’t owe a thing! It’s all yours because you were the one who put it together. Add your own samples too! There’s nothing quite like Sonic Producer on the market today.

You’ll get hundreds of beats for pennies! Create music you can listen to on your own, share with friends or use to accompany you on live performances. Sonic Producer does it all, and for a fraction of the cost of renting a recording studio. Make your music your way. All you need is a computer. Sonic Producer is available for both the Macintosh and PC platforms, and you don’t need to buy any other special equipment. Everything you need is right in the software. Whether you’re inspired by Dr. Dre or you want to inspire other musicians, Sonic Producer can help you get to where you’re going!

Photo Credit: Yun, via Flickr