Sunday night while the rest of us will still be recovering from last week’s Super Bowl, stars will gather in Los Angeles for the 46th Grammy Awards.

This year, hip-hop and R’B are dominating the awards show. This is definitely an indicator of the change in times. Years ago when rap music emerged on the scene, there wasn’t a rap category at awards shows. When the board finally did decide that rappers were worthy of the golden gramophone, the awards that were given in this category were not televised.

It would be hard for this portion of the broadcast to be left out of on television now. Of course Grammy officials could choose to not show this part of the show — that is if they want to eliminate the categories of Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best R’B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Best Urban/Alternative Performance, because all of these awards have at least one rap group nominated.

Leading the pack in the race for the Grammy’s are Beyonce, Justin Timberlake and OutKast. Last year proved to be a turning point for each of these artists. Beyonce left her “sisters” behind and ventured into the solo world. She did what many thought she wanted to do for a long time — she put out her solo album “Dangerously in Love,” and fans ate it up. At this point, why would she even return to the group? What for? She has found success as a solo artist and she has been featured in the major motion pictures “Austin Powers: Goldmember” and “The Fighting Temptations.”

Justin Timberlake is also another break-out solo star. Once he left behind longtime girlfriend Britney Spears and his four boy band mates he earned the respect that he so desperately wanted. Although he had to endure countless comparisons to the gloved one, Michael Jackson, he’s moved past that and carved his own niche in the pop/R’B genre. He’s even earned the respect from career veteran Brian McKnight.

Finally, there’s OutKast. Being the first group to release two solo albums simultaneously, they’ve had nothing but success with “Speakerboxx/The Love Below.” With Andre 3000’s wacky clothing style and Big Boi’s smoothness, the duo has been heating up the airwaves. However, I have to say I’m more fond of Andre than Big Boi. I don’t know if it’s because he’s a fellow Gemini, or maybe it has something to do with the fact that the infectious beat of “Hey Ya!” is just too hard to get out of my head. Although I’ve heard the song countless times, who can resist “shaking it like a Polaroid picture” when the tune comes on?

I’m ecstatic because FINALLY Floetry is getting what they deserve. The team, made up of Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart, hails from London via Philly, where most of the soul brothers and soul sisters of the Neo-Soul movement have gotten their start. Two years after the release of their freshman effort, “Floetic,” these two women are still touring and it’s good to see that positive and thoughtful lyrics can actually get you somewhere in the music biz.

Another group that I’m glad to see get a nod is Les Nubians. These sisters are from France and their second album, “One Step Forward,” is a mix of music fused together to produce an electric sound.

My hopes for the winners this year are as follows:

Record of the Year — “Hey Ya!” by OutKast

Song of the Year — A toss up between “Lose Yourself” and “Beautiful.” Eminem is one of the most gifted lyricists around, but Christina can SING and the song is good too.

Best New Artist — Another hard one, Evanescence and 50 Cent. Evanescence came out with something fresh and new, but 50 Cent has to be given some credit for his first week sales of “Get Rich or Die Tryin'” and his use of street entreprenuralism in the record industry.

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance — “Cry Me a River” by Justin Timberlake. Yeah, Justin can sound like a woman sometimes, but the boy has a decent voice.

Best Female R’B Vocal Performance — “Dangerously in Love 2” by Beyonce. Come on we have to give it up for B, she did her thing last year. Can you believe Ashanti was nominated? What has this world come to?

Best Male R’B Vocal Performance — “Step in the Name of Love” by R.Kelly. That song is the bomb, it kind of takes me back to my parent’s music with a new twist. He may molest children, but the people still love him.

Best Urban/Alternative Performance — “J’veux D’la Musique” by Les Nubians. I’ve already explained this.

Best R’B Song — “Crazy in Love” by Beyonce and Jay-Z. These two had everyone trying to do the booty shake this summer and Beyonce looked damn good in the video. Have to give credit where credit is due.