Georgia artists sing praises of Grammys and working locally

Album of the Year: "Good Kid, MAAD City" – Kendrick Lamar, produced by Atlanta's Tha Bizness (aka Henny and Dow Jones) and engineered by Atlanta's Dee Brown.

Best Pop Instrumental Album: "Handpicked," Earl Klugh.

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: “Cee Lo’s Magic Moment,” Cee Lo Green.

Best Traditional R&B Performance: “Get it Right,” Fantasia.

Best R&B Song: "Without Me," Fantasia.

Best Urban Contemporary Album: "Side Effects of You," Fantasia.

Best R&B Song: "Only One," PJ Morton.

Best Rap Song: "F***in' Problems," 2 Chainz.

Best Rap Song: "Holy Grail," Jay-Z (produced by Atlanta's The-Dream [aka Terius Nash].

Best Country Duo/Group Performance: "Your Side of the Bed," Little Big Town.

Best Country Album: "Night Train," Jason Aldean.

Best Gospel/CCM Performance: "Break Every Chain," Tasha Cobbs.

Best Gospel Album: "Grace," Tasha Cobbs.

Best Contemporary Christian Music Song: "Whom Shall I Fear," Chris Tomlin.

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album: "Burning Lights," Chris Tomlin.

Best Gospel Album: "Best Days Yet," Bishop Paul S. Morton.

Best Historical Album: "Pictures of Sound: One Thousand Years of Educed Audio: 980-1980," Steven Lance Ledbetter and Michael Graves.

On TV

The 56th Annual Grammy Awards

8 p.m. Sunday on CBS.

Last year, Christian rapper Lecrae scored his first career Grammy for his profound album, "Gravity."

Even though his award was bestowed in the pre-show ceremony that doesn’t air on TV, it signified a monumental career achievement. It also provided him with industry visibility that connected him with different producers to work with on his next release, and the added cachet of “Grammy winner” on his resume.

“It was definitely inspiring in terms of being an average kid from an average city (he moved to Atlanta from Houston in 2009) and creating music that could be appreciated by people around the world. It speaks to a lot of younger people who may have seen me that they can do it as well,” Lecrae said at a recent event held by the Atlanta chapter of The Recording Academy to honor Georgia’s Grammy nominees.

Lecrae isn’t nominated this year – he’s one of many Georgia artists who weren’t part of an album release cycle in 2013 – but he supports the recording academy and its events because of the industry prestige.

The 56th Annual Grammy Awards will air live Sunday on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles – a few weeks earlier than usual because of the Olympics – and artists with Georgia ties will factor in 20 nominations.

It isn't the longest list in recent memory, but it maintains the state's continued steady presence in the music industry, especially in the country, rap and contemporary Christian music genres (although some of us are still puzzled bythe egregious snubbing of Janelle Monae in the R&B categories).

Chris Tomlin, who moved to Atlanta from his native Texas in 2008 to help start Passion City Church in Buckhead, already has a 2012 Grammy on his mantel and will try to add two more with his nods for Best Contemporary Christian Music Song ("Whom Shall I Fear") and Best Contemporary Christian Music Album (his No. 1 album, "Burning Lights").

2 Chainz (aka Tauheed Epps), a one-time basketball star at North Clayton High School, will battle heavyweights Jay-Z, Kanye West, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Drake for Best Rap Song (“F***in’ Problems”) as he attempts to win his firstGrammy.

Fellow rapper T.I. was among the most ubiquitous artists of 2013 thanks to his participation in Robin Thicke’s cheeky “Blurred Lines,” the top-selling song of the year according to Billboard. The funky ditty is up for two awards, including the prestigious Record of the Year. T.I. previously has scored three Grammys, the most recent in 2008 with Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group (“Swagga Like Us”).

Macon native Jason Aldean will seek his first Grammy with a nomination for Best Country Album ("Night Train"). Like many of his country brethren, he now resides in Nashville. His family remains in Georgia, which he's said, "will always kind of be home." Aldean also chose to hold a record-setting concert at University of Georgia's Sanford Stadium last April and released the event – which featured an appearance from Atlanta rapper Ludacris – on DVD.

Nashville might be the locale where many Georgia musicians stack their Grammys, but some artists, such as the Zac Brown Band, are comfortable with the dual existence.

ZBB, which won its third Grammy last year for Best Country Album (“Uncaged”), is currently working on its next release at the band’s new Southern Ground Studios in Nashville.

The band’s keyboardist/guitarist Coy Bowles said at the recent Atlanta Grammy event that Music City got the nod because, “We’re in the country music world, and Zac wants to have a presence there. We were looking to buy a studio (in Atlanta) , but this one amazing place came available (in Nashville) and Zac wanted to be able to say, ‘Hey, we appreciate what you guys do for us. We want to have a studio here and plant our feet here as well.’ But Atlanta is still home, there’s no doubt about that.”

Then there are the Bush brothers – Kristian and Brandon – who steadfastly support the Atlanta music industry and the Atlanta chapter of the Recording Academy.

As the front man in Sugarland, which has two career Grammys, Kristian said he appreciates Atlanta because, “It’s easy to create here. It’s easy to be inspired here.”

But Brandon, who includes Sugarland, Train and Tift Merritt on his accomplished resume as a keyboardist, takes it a step further.

“To me, it’s the collaboration. Everybody wants to work together and it’s not like that in all parts of the country. That’s why we continue to be involved in this community and in this organization (the Recording Academy).”

As Lecrae can attest, sometimes the partnerships that result from Grammy notice wind up being the biggest victory of all.