In this April 14, 2013 file photo, Macklemore, left, and Ryan Lewis, right, perform “Can’t Hold Us” with Ray Dalton at the MTV Movie Awards in Sony Pictures Studio Lot in Culver City, Calif. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are among the clear favorites as The Recording Academy prepares to unveil its Grammy nominees on Friday, Dec. 6, 2013. A handful will be unveiled during a CBS special, and the rest announced after it airs. Matt Sayles/Invision /AP
Jay Z easily led Grammy Award nominations with nine, but left-of-center hip-hop stars Kendrick Lamar and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were among a group of young performers who took many of the major nominations.
Macklemore and Lewis’ gay marriage anthem “Same Love” was among song of the year nominees and the Seattle rap crew joined Los Angeles rapper Lamar with seven nominations apiece, including best album and best new artist of the year. Pharrell Williams had four major nominations among his seven and Justin Timberlake also had seven.
But like Jay Z, Timberlake was mostly relegated to the genre categories in a year he was expected to contend for major awards. He and Jay Z teamed up for two nominations apiece, but they only had one major nod between them.