"The diversity in the creative community is what makes music a universal language, and it's gratifying to see the vibrancy of today's artistic landscape reflected in this year's nominations — a testament to The Academy's voting members. Artists are pushing boundaries in exciting ways, making it an exceptionally strong year for music."

-Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy

It's been an exciting year in hip-hop, to say the least. Great albums released, even bigger singles, and this time around almost every artist is getting noticed. Today the 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards nominations were revealed, and rapper Kendrick Lamar topped everyone with 11 nods, including for Best Rap Album ("To Pimp A Butterfly"), Best Music Video ("Alright") and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "These Walls" with Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat. Taylor Swift and The Weeknd walked away with seven nominations each in their respective categories, while Drake received several nods for Best Rap Performance ("Back To Back"), and 

Take a look at the nominations below:

Best Rap Performance
"Apparently," J. Cole
"Back To Back," Drake
"Trap Queen," Fetty Wap
"Alright," Kendrick Lamar
"Truffle Butter," Nicki Minaj ft. Drake & Lil Wayne
"All Day," Kanye West ft. Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom & Paul McCartney

Best Rap/ Sung Collaboration
"One Man Can Change The World," Big Sean Featuring Kanye West & John Legend
"Glory," Common & John Legend
"Classic Man," Jidenna Featuring Roman GianArthur
"These Walls," Kendrick Lamar Featuring Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat
"Only," Nicki Minaj Featuring Drake, Lil Wayne & Chris Brown

Best Rap Album
2014 Forest Hills Drive, J. Cole
Compton, Dr. Dre
If You're Reading This It's Too Late, Drake
To Pimp A Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar
The Pinkprint, Nicki Minaj

Record of the Year
"Really Love," by D'angelo and the Vanguard
"Uptown Funk," Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
"Thinking Out Loud," Ed Sheeran
"Blank Space," Taylor Swift
"Can't Feel My Face," The Weeknd

Album of the Year
Sound & Color, Alabama Shakes
To Pimp A Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar
Traveller, Chris Stapleton
1989, Taylor Swift
Beauty Behind The Madness, The Weeknd

Song of the Year
"Alright," Kendrick Lamar (Songwriters: Kendrick Duckworth, Mark Anthony Spears & Pharrell Williams)
"Blank Space," Taylor Swift (Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Max Martin & Shellback)
"Girl Crush," Little Big Town (Songwriters: Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna & Liz Rose)
"See You Again," Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth (Songwriters: Andrew Cedar, Justin Franke, Charles Puth & Cameron Thomaz)
"Thinking Out Loud," Ed Sheeran (Songwriters: Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge)

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

Best Dance Recording
“We’re All We Need,” Above and Beyond ft. Zoë Johnston
“Go,” The Chemical Brothers
“Never Catch Me,” Flying Lotus Featuring Kendrick Lamar
“Runaway (U & I),” Galantis
“Where Are Ü Now,” Skrillex and Diplo with Justin Bieber

Best R&B Performance
“If I Don’t Have You,” Tamar Braxton
“Rise Up,” Andra Day
“Breathing Underwater,” Hiatus Kaiyote
“Planes,” Jeremih ft. J. Cole
“Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey),” The Weeknd

Best R&B Song
“Coffee,” Brook Davis & Miguel Pimentel, songwriters (Miguel)
“Let It Burn,” Kenny B. Edmonds, Jazmine Sullivan & Dwane M. Weir II, songwriters (Jazmine Sullivan)
“Really Love,” D’Angelo & Kendra Foster, songwriters (D’Angelo And The Vanguard)
“Shame,” Warryn Campbell, Tyrese Gibson & DJ Rogers Jr, songwriters (Tyrese)
“Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey),” Ahmad Balshe, Stephan Moccio, Jason Quenneville & Abel Tesfaye, songwriters (The Weeknd)

Best Urban Contemporary Album

Ego Death,The Internet
You Should Be Here
, Kehlani
Blood, Lianne La Havas
Wildheart, Miguel
Beauty Behind The Madness, The Weeknd

Best Music Video
"LSD," ASAP Rocky
"I Feel Love (Every Million Miles)," The Dead Weather
"Alright," Kendrick Lamar
"Bad Blood," Taylor Swift Featuring Kendrick Lamar
"Freedom," Pharrell Williams

Source: GRAMMY.com | Photo Credit: Splash News