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Last Wednesday (December 2) the nominations for the 52nd annual Grammy Awards were announced. The hip-hop community was shocked to learn that Rick Ross’ critically acclaimed third solo disc, Deeper Than Rap, failed to be included in the Best Rap Album category.

XXLMag.com recently caught up with DJ Khaled—a major player in the making of the LP—to get his response on the snub. At the time of the interview, the Miami DJ turned record exec had yet to hear the official Grammy nods but had his own thoughts on the record’s success.

“Shout out to my Def Jam team, I co-executive [produced] Deeper Than Rap [and] A&Red Deeper Than Rap,” he exclaimed. “Ross is one of my favorite artists as well as my friend, and that’s a classic! Rick Ross is one of the biggest rappers in the game, hands down.” [Watch below]

Khaled revealed that the Triple C’s leader is currently working on his follow up to DTR. “We’re working on a new album called Teflon Don,” he said. “That’s gonna hurt the game.”

As previously reported, Eminem’s Relapse, Flo Rida’s R.O.O.T.S., Mos Def's The Ecstatic, Common’s Universal Mind Control and Q-Tip’s The Renaissance are all in competition for best rap album.

The Grammy awards ceremony is set to air on January 31, 2010 on CBS. —Elan Mancini with reporting by Anslem Samuel

[video:http://www.xxlmag.com/uploads/video/files/12.9.09_QN_KhaledonRickRoss.flv l]

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