The Grammy Award for Best Male Rap Solo Performance was an honor presented to male recording artists at the 45th Grammy Awards in 2003 and the 46th Grammy Awards in 2004 for quality rap solo performances. The Grammy Awards, an annual ceremony that was established in 1958, and originally called the Gramophone Awards, are presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position". Starting in 1991, the Academy began to honor individual rap performances with the Best Rap Solo Performance category. In 2003, the category was divided by gender with the introduction of the Female to accompany the award for Male Rap Solo Performances. The categories remained separated by gender until 2005 when they were combined into the genderless category originally known as Best Rap Solo Performance. American singers Nelly and Eminem received the awards for Best Male Rap Solo Performance. Background In 1991, the Academy began to honor individual rap performances with the Best Rap Solo Performance category. The category name remained unchanged until 2004 when it was split into separate categories for Female and Male Rap Solo Performances. The categories remained separated by gender for one additional year. In 2005, they were merged into the genderless category originally known as Best Rap Solo Performance. Female rapper MC Lyte has campaigned for the reinstatement of the female-specific category and believes that "it destroys [hip-hop] culture to not have the perspective of a woman". Bill Freimuth, Recording Academy Vice President of Awards, claimed that the category was eliminated because "[there] wasn't enough competition essentially, due to the lack of the number of releases in that category." Black Entertainment Television (BET) executive Stephen Hill cited a similar reason for the elimination of the female categories by the BET Hip Hop Awards and VH1's Hip Hop Honors, reflecting a lack of female representation in the hip hop music scene for several years. As of 2011, the category name has not changed since 2005. Recipients For the 45th Grammy Awards (2003), Best Male Rap Solo Performance nominees included: Eminem for "Without Me", Jay-Z for "Song Cry", Ludacris for "Rollout (My Business)", Mystikal for "Bouncin' Back (Bumpin' Me Against the Wall)", and Nelly for "Hot in Herre". Additionally Eminem was nominated for: Record of the Year and Best