One day before the official reveal of the Juno Awards nominees, CBC Radio show Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud got a head start by announcing the Best Rap Album/EP of the Year category.
The nominees are Boslen’s Gonzo EP, Retrospected (Acoustic) by Classified, The Fleur Print (Vol. 2) from Jazz Cartier, Demons Protected By Angels from Nav, and the as-of-yet unreleased Shall I Continue? by Tobi.
Of the five nominated artists, four have previously had songs or projects of theirs nominated.
Toronto rapper Jazz Cartier previously won Best Rap Recording of the Year in 2017 for his Hotel Paranoia album.
Classified is no stranger to the Juno Awards, with 10 nominations to his name since 2006 and a single win in 2013 for “Inner Ninja.”
XO signee Nav has racked up eleven nominations since 2018 with his most recent nod coming in 2022 for his work on his Emergency Tsunami album.
Tobi famously took home the 2021 Juno for Rap Recording of the Year for his album Elements Vol. 1 while securing a nomination that same year for his song “Holiday” which got a nod for Contemporary R&B Recording of the Year. He was then nominated again in 2022 for Songwriter of the Year, but lost to The Weeknd.
Boslen is the only artist on the list who hasn’t previously been nominated. The Vancouver artist’s debut album came out in 2021 while his Gonzo EP dropped in June of last year.
The other Juno Awards nominees will be announced tomorrow.