UPDATE 1-Rappers Kendrick Lamar, Drake lead Grammy award nominations

Rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake led Grammy Award nominations on Friday, with eight and seven nods, respectively.

Drake and Lamar were also nominated in the top category - album of the year - along with rappers Cardi B and Post Malone, R&B singer Janelle Monae, folk singer Brandi Carlile, country star Kacey Musgraves, R&B artist H.E.R. and the "Black Panther" movie soundtrack.

The Grammy Awards, chosen by members of the Recording Academy, will be handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Feb. 10.

Grammy organizers said in June they would expand to eight from five the number of nominees in the top four categories - record, song and album of the year, and best new artist - to allow a more diverse line-up. Five artists had been nominated in each category since the Grammys were first awarded in 1959.

Hip hop and R&B surpassed rock for the first time in 2017 as the biggest music genre in the United States, according to a Nielsen Music report. (Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Franklin Paul and Bernadette Baum)

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