Chicago artists score 34 Grammy nods
Chicago music artists received a total of 34 Grammy nominations Thursday when the Recording Academy announced contenders for its 50th award ceremony, set for broadcast from the Staples Center in Los Angeles Feb. 10.
Rapper and producer Kanye West led the nominations, receiving eight total including album of the year for his work on "Graduation" (Roc-A-Fella), his third album. West, who recently returned home to share the stage with mentor Jay-Z at the House of Blues, made headlines last month following the death of his mother Donda West, a former Chicago State University teacher, due to complications from cosmetic surgery.
West also swept each rap category, receiving nominations for best rap solo performance and best rap performance by a duo or group, among others.
Jazz pianist and Chicago native Herbie Hancock will compete against West, Amy Winehouse, Vince Gill and Foo Fighters for album of the year honors for "River: The Joni Letters" (Verve), his renditions of Joni Mitchell songs. He also received recognition for best contemporary jazz album and best jazz instrumental solo.
More Coverage Stories West, Winehouse, Foo Fighters lead Grammy noms [12/6/07]
Other Chicago Grammy nominees span genres from rock to Latin to spoken word. Wilco received an unusual best rock album nod for "Sky Blue Sky" (Nonesuch), which happens to be their quietest album to date.
Local Latin ensemble Sones de Mexico was awarded a nomination for best Mexican/Mexican-American album for "Esta Tierra Es Tuya," their self-released take on Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land."
Illinois Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama also was mentioned Thursday, receiving a best spoken word nomination for the audio version of his biography "The Audacity of Hope" (Random House Audio).
Chicago received the majority of nominations from its hip-hop and RB communities, once again shedding light on the renaissance of creativity happening in both.
Besides West, rapper Common received a nomination for best rap album and Lupe Fiasco received one for best urban/alternative performance.
Chicago RB's past and present was represented by R. Kelly, a best RB performance nominee, and soul music veteran Otis Clay, a best traditional RB vocal performance nominee.
Other Chicago nominees include the Plain White T's (song of the year, best pop performance by a duo or group), gospel songwriter and producer Donald Lawrence (best gospel song and traditional album), singer Kurt Elling (best jazz vocal album) and gospel vocalist Smokie Norful (best traditional gospel album), among others.
Chicago artists, no surprise, dominated the best traditional blues category with blues pianist Pinetop Perkins, guitarist Otis Rush, singer Koko Taylor and country blues icon David "Honeyboy" Edwards chasing down the same award