Will Kendrick Lamar & D'Angelo Win Big At The Grammys!? Okayplayer's Picks + Predictions

The 2016 Grammys are only days away, so it is right that we start hypothesizing who will take home the grand prize. As with any awards ceremony, it is difficult to accurately predict who will be declared the best, which leaves us to put forth an educated guess. Despite the different opinions the OKP staff might have, it appears that all of the nominees are especially worthy of this hallowed accomplishment.

So, when Monday rolls around, the general public will all be retweeting, chiming in with their own opinion and jamming out to that Hamiltonperformance. Whatever happens throughout the night, the 58th Annual Grammy Awards will find most eyes, ears and hopes resting on Kendrick Lamar and his 11 nominations. Its clear that the Grammys are making up for the mistake of snubbing good kid, m.A.A.d. cityback in 2012.

There are many who would like to pretend that Kendrick Lamar didnt have the best project of the last 360-some days. They would be mistaken. Yet, in the past, the Grammys have been an unpredictable bag of crazy that has thrown us for a loop, both for good and for bad (looking at you, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis). Should the night not go Kendrick Lamar and TDEs way, that would mean that the whitewashing tendencies are continuing for a new generation.

Well have to wait until Monday, February 15 to see what really happens, but until then check out Okayplayers staff choices for who will win at the 2016 Grammy Awards.

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Best Rap Album

2014 Forest Hills Drive - J. Cole

Compton - Dr. Dre

If Youre Reading This Its Too Late - Drake

To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar

The Pinkprint - Nicki Minaj

With a host of talented MCs littering the field, it may seem like we would all be in agreement in choosing one to take home the Best Rap Album Grammy. And you would be right if you knew us IRL, as we all agree unanimously that the top dog of Top Dawg Entertainment, Kendrick Lamar, and his To Pimp A Butterfly album is worthy of the Best Rap Album distinction.

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In what has developed into a mix of sophisticated and ratchet rap, the nominees that the Grammys voters have to pick and choose are as major as their sounds that eek out of speakers around the country. Yet, whether one loves the raucous vibe of All Day, or has their mojo increased by Drakes Energy, or even took to the streets to protest injustice by singing Alright, our team of musicologists all believe that Kendrick Lamar will earn his second Grammy for To Pimp A Butterfly.

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Best Rap/Sung Collabo

One Man Can Change The World - Big Sean ft. Kanye West & John Legend

Glory - Common ft. John Legend

Classic Man - Jidenna ft. Roman GianArthur

These Walls - Kendrick Lamar ft. Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat

Only - Nicki Minaj ft. Lil Wayne & Drake

Oh, how millions of Barbz are going to feel bad for Nicki Minaj. As her song faded from playlists, the guys on this list easily overshadowed her debauchery-filled romp with Drake and Lil Wayne through clever and earnest lyrics that sounded unlike anything from the Young Money roster. And even though Glory was the darling of the Oscars, One Man was a surprise summer hit our team is split 3-1 in favor of Kendrick Lamars These Walls. What is the one, you ask? Our illustrious EIC held the single vote for Jidennas blockbuster boogie, Classic Man, which featured Roman GianArthur.

It is pretty amazing to see that a diss song such as Back To Back was nominated for a Grammy. Somewhere Meek Mill is shaking his head in disappointment in a bucket of Wingstop chicken. Meanwhile, Apparently didnt do enough to sway the OKP think tank and Trap Queen didnt even move the needle on our radar. Truffle Butter, even though it is a catchy little ditty, it couldnt compete with being the song of a new generation caught up in the fight against injustice and police brutality. So, our unanimous vote was for Cornrow Kenny from Compton and his song, Alright, which would make it his third win out of 11 nominations.

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This particular category is stacked full of talented singers and songwriters. Many music lovers welcomed the soulful sounds of Leon Bridges, while championing the aggressive stylings of Jazmine Sullivan. As newcomer and veteran, Andra Day and Charlie Wilson, respectively surprised our OKP committee our prediction for Best R&B Album goes to an album that took 14 years to make. Even if it was super long to wait for, Black Messiah certainly lived up to the hype, and has our vote to take home the Grammy on February 15.

Overheard:

"This was not nominated for Album Of The Year because ALBUM OF THE LIFE."

Best Urban Contemporary Album

Ego Death - The Internet

You Should Be Here - Kehlani

Blood - Lianne La Havas

Beauty Behind The Madness - The Weeknd

Regardless of all the new blood thats been nominated, the Grammys are known to be a bit unconventional and unpredictable when it makes its choices for winner. The smart money, of course, would be on The Weeknd and his Michael Jackson-inspired riffs that featured prominently on Beauty Behind The Madness. Other would believe that the young upstart, Kehlani, will take it home because her style is so awesome that it deserves a Grammy win. Well, our OKP brain trust goes against the grain and in agreement pick Ego Death by The Internet as Best Urban Contemporary Album. Trust us, it was that damn good!

Overheard:

"Damn. I think they created this category specially for Miguel and he still not gonna take it, even without Frank in the room. Maybe next time out he'll re-write the categories again."

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All of these songs had its moment of shine on the interwebs and the airwaves. Tyreses Shame being the surprise hit out of the bunch, other joints such as Earned It, Coffee and Let It Burn were massive successes for The Weeknd, Miguel and Jazmine Sullivan, respectively. R&B was so good in 2015 that these artists were directly responsible for talk of the genres resurgence. Yet, in our humble opinion, the true ruler of the R&B land and deserved winner of the nights big prize is DAngelo and The Vanguard. The bands Really Love evoked the type of loving feeling thats been missing in R&B for quite some time.

Best Traditional R&B Performance

He Is - Faith Evans

Little Ghetto Boy - Lalah Hathaway

Let It Burn- Jazmine Sullivan

Shame - Tyrese

My Favorite Part Of You - Charlie Wilson

On this decision, the team was split 2-2. A tie. Yes, I couldn't believe it when I tallied it up. #TeamLalah was backed by Zo (who got soul) and Izzy (the keeper of the Twitter), while #TeamJazmine was endorsed by yours truly and our EIC, STATS. With the OKP trust calling it right down the middle on this one, we'll leave it up to you, OKP-er, to tell us who you think will with "Best Traditional R&B Performance" at this year's Grammys. Who knows you might even win something!

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R&B performances mean that this individual was able to captivate like no other in the game. You had the chops, the vocal prowess to dominate the ear-waves and make an impact like a champ. In our roundtable discussion, we expressed our reason for the choices and came up indifferent. The majority votes goes to The Weeknd -"Earned It" (Izzy, STATS), with the two single votes coming for Hiatus Kaiyote (Zo) and "Planes" (Kevito). Even some who didn't vote for HK seem to be rooting for them to win this year, though, and feel they may have been nominated in the wrong category. Will the Australian future soul band take home the night's Golden Gramophone!?

Overheard:

"Weeknd, based on themost straightforward, common sense understanding of the term 'R&B'. But I would definitely pick Hiatus for best 'Jazzy Metallic Prog' performance! Paws down."

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Best Alternative Music Album

Sound & Color - Alabama Shakes

Vulnicura - Bjrk

The Waterfall - My Morning Jacket

Currents - Tame Impala

Star Wars - Wilco

It's no secret that we have a love for that southern-fried band from Alabama. And while My Morning Jacket had a strong vote in its favor, it was the group's overwhelming consensus that Brittany Howard and her band of rock 'n' rollers will take home the Grammy. This will be the band's first Grammy win in six nominations.

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album

Guitar In The Space Age! - Bill Frisell

Love Language - Wouter Kellerman

Afrodeezia - Marcus Miller

Sylva - Snarky Puppy & Metropole Orkest

Preferably, the style and sound of instrumental that is best in my ears is one tagged with Soulection on it. Yet, the debate about "Best Contemporary Instrumental Album" won't happen at the readers expense. In short, there was an artist who was totally worth getting this prize over the others. And yes, any project namedAfrodeezia would win in any other setting. Our choice, however, is the fun and funky sounds of Snarky Puppy & Metropole Orkest'sSylva. Is it too late to give early congratulations?!

Best Pop Vocal Album

Piece By Piece - Kelly Clarkson

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful - Florence & The Machine

Uptown Special - Mark Ronson

1989 - Taylor Swift

Before This World - James Taylor

This is where things get a bit tricky, mon frre. James Taylor, a certified legend, with a Grammy nominated album has some tough competition in the way. Florence & The Machine have been on a tear with powerful projects the last few years, while Mark Ronson had two of the biggest songs in 2015 with "Uptown Funk" and "Feel Right."Kelly Clarkson always manages to surprise listeners with her brand of captivating soul and it's no secret the pop world loves Taylor Swift. Another surprise you'd be interested to learn is that the team was equally divided on this at 2-2. Which two, you ask? #TeamSwift was repped by Zo and Izzy and #TeamUptownFunk was powered by yours truly and our EIC, STATS.

Overheard:

"Ronson. 'Causeof all the people nominated in this category, he is the only one I have ever seen in the DJ booth at the old East Village Radio."

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Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

The Silver Lining: The Songs Of Jerome Kern - Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap

Shadows In The Night - Bob Dylan

Stages - Josh Groban

No One Ever Tells You - Seth MacFarlane

My Dream Duets - Barry Manilow & Various Artists

A bit trickier to predict, this list is packed to the gills with time-tested legends in a strong category. Bob Dylan's album full of Sinatra covers got some love and mixed reviews, while Josh Groban is a proven Grammy mainstay with his work. If it were up to me and me alone, I would declare Seth MacFarlane the winner of "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album." I mean, you can probably hum out two different songs that theFamily Guycreator has made last year that you love. But the team sat down and collective agreed that Dylan reigns supreme, leaving MacFarlane in the winless column for another year.

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Best Pop Duo / Group Performance

Ship To Wreck - Florence & The Machine

Sugar - Maroon 5

Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars

Bad Blood - Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar

See You Again - Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth

All hits, all played in Everywhere, U.S.A. and in Europe, too! Wiz Khalifa's song-and-tribute has resonated with those who have lost someone close, as "Bad Blood" blares out of speakers encouraging hate to stay away. No matter how the charts felt about the songs on this list, we discovered that music lovers will witness Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars take home their second Grammy of the night. "Uptown Funk" dripped with the right levels of bass, catchiness and volume that made it too big to fail. With our money on this clever tune -- do you think they'll end up being one of the big winners of the evening?

Overheard:

"This is what they created this category for. Somewhere Rick James and Larry Smith are doing cocaine in heaven to this song."

When Abel stands up to accept his award for "Best Pop Solo Performance" he should do well to thank Prince and Michael Jackson for his accomplishment. No one on this list can overpower the Canadian crooner who wears his influences with pride. "Can't Feel My Face" is absolutely euphoric and found The Weeknd hitting a home run for the 6ix. With only one vote in favor for another party (Izzy) the song that was his first Hot 100 No. 1 will be one of many that he may take home during the event.

Overheard:

"This is what they created this category for. MJ and the drummer from the Steve Miller Band are doing cocaine in heaven to this song."

Best New Artist

Courtney Barnett

James Bay

Sam Hunt

Tori Kelly

Meghan Trainor

Arguably, the most bewildering category in the Grammys' big four, "Best New Artist" confounds even the staunchest music critic. If the Academy is honoring an act who releases, during the Eligibility Year, then how come we're seeing names that we've seen for years being nominated? Whatever the case may be it seems that the voters may not understand when an artist actually establishes a public identity. Tough to say who our choice was as we didn't agree on all the selections in this list. One vote went for Meghan Trainor (Izzy), another went for Sam Hunt (Zo) and there was even one for Anderson .Paak (STATS) as a write-in candidate. My vote? Heh, if this category could award fun. in 2013, whoever wins this award has been in the public consciousness for more than a calendar year.

Overheard:

"If the Brits keep flooding our markets with these precious singer-songwriters and retro soul specialists, I'm going to dump all their tea in Boston Harbor. Again."

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"Song Of The Year" is the pre-fight before the main event, which indubitably is "AlbumOf The Year," and serves as an indicator of who will win. The nominees are all craftsman in their own right, as Taylor Swift, Wiz Khalifa and Ed Sheeran all would be taking home their first prize in this category. "Girl Crush" is a pretty county ballad, "See You Again" is full of sweet sentiments, yet there is only one that shines so greatly. Our choice (and obvious winner) is "Alright" by Kendrick Lamar, a meticulously written tune by one of the sparks that ignited the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

Record Of The Year

Really Love - DAngelo and The Vanguard

Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars

Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran

Blank Space - Taylor Swift

Cant Feel My Face - The Weekend

In 2015, the real came back in the form of anti-police brutality anthems, songs about being funky with reckless abandon and other heat rocks. As this award sets to honoreveryoneinvolved in the process of making a popular record, the producers, engineers and mixers are the heroes behind this win. We were admittedly split exclusively in our decision on who would bring home the hardware. Izzy had "Can't Feel My Face," Zo chose "Uptown Funk," STATS went with "Really Love" ("Yes, 'Uptown Funk' and 'Can't Feel My Face' were played more and would therefore more instantly date a scene in a future movie set in 2015. But 'Really Love' will lap them both twice on Valentine's Day.")and I, even though some may think it mush, went with "Thinking Out Loud".

With two Max Martin-produced singles competing against one another -- will Academy voters choose "Space" over "Face"...? Guess we'll all have to tune in to find out, but don't forget to tweet at us your choices in hopes to win something cool!

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The Big Chalupa. El Numero Dinero. In other words, the award everyone has been waiting for. Win this and go down in history with the likes of Ms. Lauryn Hill and OutKast as one of the true greats in hip-hop. And while other pundits are hanging their hat on Taylor Swift's1989, we're sticking to our bets and proclaimTo Pimp A Butterflyas the "Album Of The Year". Top Dawg Entertainment's multi-textured, audio-biographical, dripped-in-funk effort packaged as a hip-hop concept album is capital-A "awesome" in terms of what popular musicreallyis. How can anyone vote against an album that has the President of the United States' favorite song on it? If the Grammys were listening to us, they'd do well to be on the right side of history here.

Overheard:

"I like Alabama Shakes too but they just serenaded the butterfly. they didn't pimp it. You know?"

Best Dance Recording

"We're All We Need" - Above & Beyond ft. Zo Johnston

"Go" - The Chemical Brothers ft. Q-Tip

"Never Catch Me" - Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar

"Runaway" (U & I) - Galantis

"Where Are Now" - Skrillex and Diplo with Justin Bieber

A notoriously difficult category for us to choose, especially since we all have two-left-feet at Okayplayer, it seems that there is one choice that stands out above all. Even though you would argue that "Uptown Funk," with its instance buzz and groovy tune, should be on this list. Skrillex and Diplo's "Where Are Now" seems like an unstoppable juggernaut when paired against the competition. Yet, there's one factor that the majority of OKP's staff argued when debating this category: Flying Lotus's featured guest performer is Kendrick Lamar, who swayed us into calling it for the California duo.

Overheard:

"OH. I thought they meant "dance' like untz-untz. I didn't know 'dance' like 'stutter-step until the restless spirit of your ancestors possesses you and then spreads to the world wide internet via the drum patch'. If i had know that, I would have paid more attention to the dance category in previous years. So FlyLo. Justin Bieber will probably win, tho."

Do you agree with our predictions? Debate us on Twitter @Okayplayer!