J. Cole could be missing from the 2027 Grammy race altogether. As first-round voting gets underway for the upcoming awards, reports suggest the rapper did not submit any eligible music released in 2026 for consideration, including his album The Fall-Off.
The news was initially shared by Grammy-focused accounts such as The Grammy Guru and NFR Podcast before being picked up by According2HipHop. However, neither Cole nor his team has publicly addressed the reported decision, leaving it unclear whether he intentionally chose to skip the Grammys or whether the situation stems from a procedural matter.
Despite years of anticipation surrounding The Fall-Off, J. Cole reportedly left the album out of this year’s Grammy race.
As first-round voting begins for the 2027 awards, reports indicate that the rapper did not submit any eligible music released in 2026 for consideration, Neither Cole nor his team has publicly addressed the matter, leaving it unclear whether the decision was an intentional boycott or the result of a procedural issue.
Still, The Fall-Off would have entered Grammy season with an impressive track record. Released in February, the album was described by Cole as a project made “with intentions to be my last.” It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, capping off years of anticipation after the rapper first began teasing the project in 2018.
J. Cole’s reported decision to sit out the Grammys stands out because he has continued participating in the awards despite criticizing the institution in his music. On his 2024 track “7 Minute Drill,” he bluntly declared, “F\*ck the Grammys,” even as his own work continued earning nominations.
Still, Cole has an established history with the Recording Academy. He won Best Rap Song in 2020 as a featured artist on 21 Savage’s “A Lot” and later took home Best Melodic Rap Performance alongside Lil Durk for “All My Life.” His album The Off-Season received multiple nominations in 2022, while Might Delete Later earned a Best Rap Album nomination at the 2025 ceremony.
Once Grammy voting begins, there is no way around the submission requirements. The Recording Academy requires eligible recordings to be formally entered through its Online Entry Process before they can appear on a voting ballot. Submissions for the 2027 ceremony closed Aug. 21, with first-round voting starting Oct. 12.
If reports about Cole’s submissions are accurate, The Fall-Off will not be overlooked when nominations are announced in November. Instead, the album will have been excluded from the competition before the race even began.
