Once considered a passing fad, hip-hop has permeated American pop music and become the most influential sound in the genre over the last half century. Its artists have gone from being persecuted over lyrics to bona-fide pop stars, corporate pitchmen, Hollywood players, tech moguls and label executives.

And now, after being largely overlooked in major categories for nearly four decades, this latest crop of Grammy nominations finally reflect the genre’s continued prominence.

“Rap is so big, people can’t deny,” said Joie Manda, executive VP of Interscope Geffen A&M. “The influence … you just feel it.”

Jay-Z leads this year’s nominees with eight for his incredibly personal “4:44,” followed by Compton rapper Kendrick Lamarwith seven. Both emcees are up for album of the year and landed in either record or song of the year. Among the diverse crop of tunes they’ll compete with are Luis Fonsi’s reggaeton-pop anthem “Despacito,” rapper Logic’s powerful track about suicide “1-800-237-8255,” Childish Gambino’s funky soul groove “Redbone” and Bruno Mars’ retro hip-hop soul joint “24K Magic.”

latimes.com