No white men have been nominated for the Album of the Year Grammy for the first time since 1999

The 2018 Grammy Award nominations, released on Tuesday, mark the first time since 1999 that no white men have been nominated for the coveted Album of the Year award. Maeve McDermott at USA Today pointed out the milestone on Twitter:

The nominees in 2018 are Kendrick Lamar's DAMN., Childish Gambino's Awaken, My Love!, Lorde's Melodrama, JAY-Z's 4:44, and Bruno Mars's 24K Magic. The winning album in 1999 was Lauryn Hill's debut The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The other nominees were Garbage's Version 2.0, Ray Of Light by Madonna, Shania Twain's Come On Over, and The Globe Sessions by Sheryl Crow.

Last year, The Grammys faced intense criticism from fans and artists like Frank Ocean and Katy Perry for a perceived lack of diversity.