Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.vice.com
Earlier this year, on May 15, 2026, Drake surprised everyone by releasing three albums. Instead of releasing one double album, or maybe even a triple, Drake released Habibti and Maid Of Honour alongside Iceman. On the closing track of Iceman, Drake declared, “This album, I’m never submittin’ it,” referring to the Grammy Awards.
It seems Drake stayed true to his word. On October 5, 2026, Billboard reported that Drake did not submit any of the three albums for Grammy consideration. He also didn’t submit any of the singles. This isn’t the first time the rapper has refused to do so. In 2018, Drake declined to submit More Life, and withdrew his submissions of Certified Lover Boy (2022) and Honestly, Nevermind (2023). He did, however, submit his 2024 collaboration album with 21 Savage, though they lost Best Rap Album to Killer Mike’s Michael.
To be included in the 2027 Grammy Awards, artists had to submit their work by August 21, 2026. Only albums and singles released between August 31, 2025, and August 28, 2026, are eligible for submission.
Could Drake’s Beef With Lamar Be the Reason?
Drake’s three new albums were his first since the 2024 feud with Kendrick Lamar. Despite the feud and Lamar’s attempt to tarnish Drake’s image, these three albums were a huge success throughout the summer months of 2026.
In January 2025, Drake filed a defamation lawsuit against their shared label, Universal Music Group (UMG). Less than a month later, in February 2025, Lamar won five Grammy Awards for the track “Not Like Us”, which alludes to Drake as being a “certified pedophile.” In the defamation suit, Drake claims the label willingly distributed a track with the false narrative. A judge dismissed the case as “nonactionable opinion” in October 2025, and Drake’s team quickly appealed.
Oral arguments in the defamation case are set for December 2026. Amid the ongoing lawsuit, Drake refused to submit his work to the Grammys. If he had submitted, Drake’s three albums might have won in some major categories.
Upon release in May 2026, Drake made history when all three albums took the top three positions on the Billboard 200. Iceman in particular could’ve been a heavy contender for Album of the Year, as Drake tied Taylor Swift for the most No. 1 albums by a solo artist at 15. It surpasses Drake’s previous record with his 2011 album Take Care, which held the top position on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for 12 weeks. Additionally, he set the record with 40 debut songs appearing on the Billboard Hot 100 in a single week.
Photo by Simone Joyner/Getty Images for ABA
