Snubbed: Influential Artists Who've Never Won a Grammy

Sometimes even the best music goes ignored.

Snubbed: Influential Artists Who've Never Won a Grammy - The Grammys may be music's biggest night, but that doesn't mean it's without flaws. Sometimes, bad music wins and good music — even the best music — goes ignored. Read on to see influential and legendary artists who've never won a Grammy. (Photos from left: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images, Lipnitzki/Roger Viollet/Getty Images, Chris Walter/WireImage)

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Snubbed: Influential Artists Who've Never Won a Grammy - The Grammys may be music's biggest night, but that doesn't mean it's without flaws. Sometimes, bad music wins and good music — even the best music — goes ignored. Read on to see influential and legendary artists who've never won a Grammy. (Photos from left: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images, Lipnitzki/Roger Viollet/Getty Images, Chris Walter/WireImage)

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Jimi Hendrix - Arguably the greatest, most influential guitarist of all-time, rock god Jimi Hendrix, the man behind classics like “Fire” and “Hey Joe,” never won a Grammy.  (Photo: Lipnitzki/Roger Viollet/Getty Images)

Maestros of American Music - The group picked up the Favorite Soul Band or Duo American Music Award in 1989. The O'Jays were also nominated for a trio of American Music Awards throughout their career in 1976, 1980, and in 1978 for Best Soul Single — "Used ta Be My Girl." (Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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The O'Jays - Despite timeless songs like "Backstabbers," The O'Jays never won their own piece of Grammy glory. (Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Run-DMC - Run DMC's legendary career peaked before the Grammys began including rap categories in 1989. (Photo: Redferns/GettyImages)

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Run-DMC - Run DMC's legendary career peaked before the Grammys began including rap categories in 1989. (Photo: Redferns/GettyImages)

Photo By Photo: Redferns/GettyImages

Nas - Year of Honor: 2006It seems contradictory to award a man who proclaimed hip hop to be dead in an album title (which was released the same year he received this award) with the first I Am Hip Hop award. However, hip hop as a culture has always been at odds with itself and no artist has ever embodied that struggle better than Nas. Hailing from Queensbridge, NY, his highly-lauded debut album, Illmatic, was credited with ushering in a new era of rap music whose effect can still be heard today.(Photo: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)

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Nas - Nas is by any measure one of the greatest rappers ever, with both the bona fide classics (Illmatic) and the commercial successes (It Was Written) to prove it, but he’s never nabbed an elusive Grammy. This past year, his excellent 10th studio album Life Is Good lost out in the Rap Album of the Year category. (Photo: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)

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Bawsin' Up - Rick Ross hits the stage with the rest of his MMG clique for the Maybach Music Group Tour at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California.(Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

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Rick Ross - Four of Rick Ross’ five albums have debuted atop the Billboard 200, and he’s behind modern-day classics like “Stay Schemin’” and “B.M.F.,” but that hasn’t yet swayed Grammy voters in the Bawse’s favor. (Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

Sly and the Family Stone, 'Sing a Simple Song' - This 1968 signature song from Sly and the Family Stone hits rap immortality at 2:12, when a funky drum and horn break that provided fodder for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's "Deep Cover," Public Enemy's "Party for Your Right to Fight" and several other timeless rap classics drops. (Photo: Evening Standard/Getty Images)

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Sly and the Family Stone - Legendary troupe Sly and the Family Stone helped invent funk and popularize soul, headlined Woodstock, and recorded songs like “Stand!” and “Everyday People” that are still influencing musicians today, but they never took home hardware at the Grammys. (Photo: Evening Standard/Getty Images)

Bob Marley - Bob Marley is arguably the most revered, respected musician worldwide. He's the man responsible for popularizing reggae and entering songs like “No Woman No Cry” and “Redemption Song” into the canon, but he died Grammy-less, four years before the Best Reggae Album category was introduced.  (Photo: Gregg Cobarr/WireImage)

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Bob Marley - Bob Marley is arguably the most revered, respected musician worldwide. He's the man responsible for popularizing reggae and entering songs like “No Woman No Cry” and “Redemption Song” into the canon, but he died Grammy-less, four years before the Best Reggae Album category was introduced.  (Photo: Gregg Cobarr/WireImage)

Tupac - Tupac was known for his candid tongue and provocative lyrics. At a MECCA arena concert in Milwaukee back in 1994 Pac got a little too carefree with his words inciting a riot which caused promoters to drop him. Pac allegedly sparked conflict with "fight words," and fans began to throw cups on stage, shove, and more; forcing the concert to end early. Afterwards, the aggravated concertgoers stormed the hotel Tupac was staying at, leaving three injured and two arrested. Promoters blamed the rapper for the mayhem and promptly discontinued their relationship him before his next show.(Photo: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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2Pac - Tupac is an icon of the highest order, selling 75 million units and being recognized as an all-time great everywhere across the world — except at the Grammys. (Photo: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

"Ten Crack Commandments," Notorious B.I.G. - On his biggest selling LP, 1997's Life After Death, the Notorious B.I.G. both sold and told the game when he issued this hit single, which explicitly laid out the rules of crack dealing. That the song came out during the waning days of the drug's popularity didn't lessen the song's power, or humor.   (Photo: Chris Walter/WireImage)

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The Notorious B.I.G. - Biggie’s impactful career — many still call him the greatest rapper ever, he’s perhaps the most sampled and quoted rapper of all time and his second album, Life After Death, sold more than 10 million copies — was cut short before the Grammys caught on. (Photo: Chris Walter/WireImage)

Snoop Dogg - The Doggfather hasn't announced any 2013 tours yet, but best believe he'll let Snoop Lion out of the cage to promote his upcoming album and documentary, Reincarnated, set for release later this year.  (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella)

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Snoop Dogg - Snoop is a living legend and hip hop household name; he’s been making crossover hits like “What’s My Name?” and “Drop It Like It’s Hot”; and he was the first debut artist to ever bow at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Despite these achievements, and many more, Snoop Dogg has yet to get a bone at the Grammys. (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella)