The nominees for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards were announced on Thursday (December 6). Kanye West received a leading eight Grammy nominations.

Other top Hip Hop and R&B nominees included Jay-Z, Rihannna, T-Pain and Timbaland. The the 50th Annual 2008 Grammy Awards will be held Sunday, February 10, 2008 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on CBS.

Other nominees include Beyonce, 50 Cent, Common, Nas, T.I., 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, The Foo Fighters, Amy Winehouse (she has 6 nominations — 2nd Most), Lupe Fiasco and others.

For a look at some of the Hip Hop Catergories

Best Rap Album

Finding Forever — Common
Kingdom Come — Jay-Z
Hip-Hop Is Dead — Nas
T.I. vs T.I.P. — T.I.
Graduation — Kanye West

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

“I Wanna Love You” — Akon Featuring Snoop Dogg
“Kiss, Kiss” — Chris Brown & T-Pain
“Let It Go” — Keyshia Cole Featuring Missy Elliott & Lil’ Kim
“Umbrella” — Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z
“Good Life” — Kanye West Featuring T-Pain

Best Rap Song

“Ayo Technology” — N. Hills, Curtis Jackson, Timothy Mosley & Justin Timberlake, songwriters (50 Cent Featuring Justin Timberlake & Timbaland)
“Big Things Poppin’ (Do It)” — Clifford Harris & Byron Thomas, songwriters (T.I.)
“Can’t Tell Me Nothing” — A. Davis & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West)
“Crank That (Soulja Boy)” — Soulja Boy Tell’Em, songwriter (Soulja Boy Tell’Em)
“Good Life” — A. Davis, F. Najm & K. West, songwriters (Kanye West Featuring T-Pain)

If you’re wondering why albums from last year (2006) [Kingdom Come, Hip Hop Is Dead] are nominated for the 2008 Grammys…it is because the grammy cycle of eligible releases is from November – October. So releases that fell between the November 2006 – October 2007 period are eligible to be nominated for the 2008 Grammy Award.