How Duckwrth's Imaginary Grammy Button Led to a Real Grammy Nomination
Duckwrth, the genre-fluid artist, has manifested a 2026 Grammy nomination for his album All American F—Boy through a unique and playful studio ritual. The singer, songwriter, and producer revealed that he and his friends would pretend to press an invisible Grammy button whenever they completed a new track, a practice that turned into a powerful form of creative manifestation.
The Manifestation Ritual in the Studio
During recording sessions, Duckwrth and his collaborators would celebrate finishing a song by invoking what they called the Grammy button. It would be certain moments when we’ll be done with the song, and we’ll come up with this thing called ‘Grammy button.’ It’s an invisible Grammy button — we’ll be like, ‘Grammy, Grammy.’ And we said that over and over again ... it was an interesting, beautiful manifestation, Duckwrth explained in an interview with The Associated Press. This repeated affirmation helped set the intention for the album's success, culminating in a nomination at the 68th annual Grammy Awards on February 1.
Duckwrth's Musical Journey and Genre-Blending Style
First gaining attention with his 2016 debut mixtape I'm Uugly, Duckwrth has built a reputation for his eclectic sound, which has featured in major projects like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and HBO's Insecure. His music defies traditional categories, seamlessly blending hip-hop, funk, rock, and soul to create immersive auditory experiences. This innovative approach is central to his latest album, All American F—Boy, which is nominated for best immersive audio album, a category that highlights technical excellence in multichannel audio mixing.
The Technical Craft Behind the Immersive Audio Nomination
The Grammy nomination specifically honors the immersive mix engineering by Andrew Law, who adapted the album's stereo recording for Dolby Atmos surround sound. Law described the challenge of maintaining the song's essence across different listening formats. The difficult part is you have to keep the essence of the actual song so that when people listen to it on headphones or on other mediums, and not like in the (Dolby Atmos) studio, that it still sounds like the song without making it too crazy, he said. His goal was to preserve the original intent while expanding it into a rich, three-dimensional soundscape that places listeners at the heart of the music.
Creating a Character-Driven Audio Drama
All American F—Boy is immersive not only in its sound but also in its narrative structure. Duckwrth conceived the album around a character inspired by a brash, Sid Vicious-type persona, aiming to subtly introduce rock elements without alienating his audience. I told my friend I gotta trick people, I gotta secretly drop a rock album, but people not know it’s a rock album, he shared. Over two and a half years, he developed an audio drama within the album, featuring narration from actor LaKeith Stanfield and collaborations with producers like BLK ODYSSY and 2Fresh, as well as artists such as Tanerélle and IDK.
Themes of Vulnerability and Personal Growth
The album follows the titular character as he navigates dating challenges and confronts toxic masculinity and commitment fears. Duckwrth described the project as loosely autobiographical, exploring how generational trauma and patriarchy impact relationships. Reflecting on the creative process, he admitted, I was highly uncomfortable dropping this album, but I think when the wind pushes you so hard, it’s like when you’re like a child throwing a tantrum, emphasizing the push to be deeply vulnerable and authentic in his work.
Looking Ahead to the Grammy Awards
Both Duckwrth and Andrew Law felt confident about the album's potential from the start. Law recalled thinking, this is the one, upon hearing the blend of narration and music. For Duckwrth, the nomination is a validation of his rebellious artistic vision and a lesson in trusting his intuition. Yeah, to get a Grammy nomination for just being all out rebellious is pretty cool, he said with a smile, expressing hope that it inspires future artists to embrace their creativity boldly, regardless of the outcome at the awards ceremony.
