Which group won the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 1996?

Naughty by Nature won the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 1996.

The group received the inaugural award for its third studio album, Poverty's Paradise, at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards. The ceremony took place in 1996, when Best Rap Album was introduced as a new Grammy category recognizing complete rap albums rather than individual songs or performances.

Poverty's Paradise followed Naughty by Nature's earlier successes with albums such as Naughty by Nature and 19 Naughty III. Its singles included “Feel Me Flow,” which also received a 1996 Grammy nomination in the Rap Duo or Group Performance category. The album's win established Naughty by Nature as the first act to claim the newly created album honor.

A frequent mix-up comes from the award year and eligibility period: the 1996 ceremony recognized recordings from the preceding release cycle. Another is choosing Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, whose E. 1999 Eternal was also nominated that year. Salt-N-Pepa and A Tribe Called Quest were not the inaugural winners.