At this year’s Grammy Awards, some popular categories are not only stocked with nominees for millennial music lovers but also for fans of 90s and 00s music.
The high-profile nominations of Beyonce, Drake, Kanye West, Chance the Rapper and other industry leaders at the 59th annual ceremony are not surprising. But a former R&B starlet, a neo-soul crooner, and a pioneering rap trio, all past their 1990s and 2000s heydays, snatched some surprising nominations in three R&B and Rap categories.
Mya
Mya snagged her first Grammy nomination in 15 years for her ninth studio album, “Smoove Jones,” in the Best R&B Album category. Released on Valentine’s Day 2016, the album was issued on Mya’s own independent label, Planet 9.
“Smoove Jones” is an 11 song album, all of which range sonically from alternative R&B to traditional quiet storm. Lyrically, the 36-year-old singer flaunts her desire to be in a monogamous relationship but still keep it sexy.
Wait…when was she famous?
Mya rose to fame in the late 1990s among contemporaries like Brandy, Monica and Aaliyah.
Her platinum selling 1998 debut album, “Mya,” spawned her first Billboard 100 Top Ten hit, “It’s All About Me.”
She went on to release, “Fear of Flying,” in 2000, which included her highest charting single to date (number 2 on the Billboard 100), “Case of the Ex.” Mya also appeared with singers Christina Aguilera, Pink and rapper Lil Kim on the 2001 posse cut cover of “Lady Marmalade” for the “Moulin Rouge!” soundtrack. She won her first and only Grammy to date in 2002 for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for “Lady Marmalade”.
Chances of a win: The Best R&B Album category reads like a tossup, but BJ the Chicago Kid might have an edge over the competition, because of his particularly strong album, “In My Mind.” Noticeably absent from the category is Solange, who is nominated for Best R&B Performance. Solange’s exclusion is definitely to the benefit of everyone in Best R&B Album after the massive success that is her album “A Seat at the Table.”
Maxwell
“Lake by the Ocean,” the first single from the second installment of Maxwell’s “BLACKsummers’night” album trilogy, “blackSUMMERS’ night,” earned him his first nomination in seven years in the Best R&B Song category.
More surprisingly, he earned his place among some of today’s R&B heavyweights like Rihanna, PartyNextDoor, Bryson Tiller and Tory Lanez.
As expected, Maxwell continues to pull his inspiration from classic neo-soul roots for “BLACKsummers’night”. But he makes sure to add in a slightly modern vibe to the otherwise typical tracks. Although reinvention is valued (and sometimes a given) for older artists, Maxwell defiantly stays the same. The same goes for his lyrics, which are forever about love and heartbreak.
One aspect that never gets stale is his unmistakable falsetto, which shows in full display on songs like “1990x.”
“Lake by the Ocean,” the song he’s nominated for, is rather straightforward and elegantly simple with his bright vocals backed by gentle piano and “real drums!” as he said in an interview with Rolling Stone last June.
Wait…when was he famous?
In the mid 1990s, Maxwell helped usher in a new alternative sound to the contemporary R&B landscape of the day, “neo-soul”, when he released his then radical debut“Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite” in 1996.
The album thrust him into the mainstream fabric alongside D’Angelo, another industry outcast, and later, singer Erykah Badu. He subsequently earned two Grammy nominations in 1997 and 1998.
He followed it up with the modestly successful “Embrya,” which critics panned for being pretentious and overly ambitious.
His third album, “Now” was released in 2001 and not long after he disappeared from the public eye for an extended hiatus.
Chances of a win: It’s highly unlikely in a category with pop A-lister Rihanna and strong contenders like Tiller.
De La Soul 
Like Maxwell, veteran rap trio De La Soul emerges from the Best Rap Album category filled with current favorites Chance the Rapper, Kanye, Drake, Schoolboy Q and DJ Khaled.
The nomination for their newest album, “and the Anonymous Nobody…” marks their first nomination since winning their first Grammy in 2006 for “Feel Good Inc.,” a collaboration with virtual band Gorillaz. The album was released on Aug. 26, 2016 via their own A.O.I. Records.
On “and the Anonymous Nobody…” members Posdnuos, Dave, and Maseo offer a mix of the usual and the unusual. The laid-back tunes (“Memory of…, Property of Spitkicker.com”) and quirky tracks (“Nosed Up”) are predictable.
But their collaborations with Blur frontman Damon Albarn and Talking Heads frontman David Byrne steer in a familiar direction for both Albarn and Byrne: rock. “Snoopies” begins with Byrne singing over a Talking Heads-esque section before the song segues into Dave delivering his verse over an uneven, haunting beat.
In theory, stretching boundaries for a record is definitely telling…most times in a good way. In practice, De La Soul got it right by experimenting sensibly with their collaborators and beats.
Wait…when were they famous?
Originally from Long Island, New York, De La Soul is best known for their debut album “3 Feet High and Rising,” released in 1989. Like A Tribe Called Quest, they took rap in a more alternative direction, highlighted by lighter but conscious-minded lyrics and beats constructed from heavy jazz sampling.
In a show of how influential the album is, celebrated hip hop magazine, “The Source,” included it in their 1998 list to celebrate their 100th issue, “The Source 100 Best Albums.”
Chances of a win: Once again, this category is crammed with albums that are currently more far-reaching, audience-wise, than theirs. Their nomination seems to be solely honorary.\
