If you've been listening for the story of this year's Grammy Awards, then chances are you've been hearing the beat of the street: Nominees for the 47th annual Grammys, to be presented Sunday at Staples Center in Los Angeles, reflect a decidedly urban flava. Recognition of R&B and its offspring genres, rap and hip-hop, has come a long way since May 4, 1959, when the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences handed out its first Grammys for artistic achievement in music. Those awards took an overwhelmingly middle-of-the-road slant during that pop-driven era: Henry Mancini's "The Music From Peter Gunn," the score to the popular TV private-eye series, was the first album of the year, and Domenico Modugno's "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)," an unlikely imported smash sung in Italian, took record and song of the year honors. The Champs' instrumental "Tequila" won the debut best R&B performance award, the lone nod devoted to the genre that year.

Rap was not even recognized with its own award until 1989, when DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince (better known today as Will Smith) received the first rap Grammy for "Parents Just Don't Understand." R&B and rap will be honored in 13 categories in 2005, and a year after hip-hop duo OutKast brought home the album-of-the-year trophy for their ambitious two-CD collection "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below," those genres dominate noms for the top four Grammys: album, record and song of the year and best new artist.

Urban music's rule of the 2005 Grammys can be viewed as a reflection of contemporary commercial trends: According to year-end figures from Nielsen SoundScan, which charts U.S. sales, R&B (24%) and rap (12%) combined to account for 36% of all music units sold in this nation in 2004. Echoing the skew of the charts and noms, the Recording Academy has enlisted an appropriate new host for this year's evening Grammy celebration: Queen Latifah, who corralled a rap solo performance nod in 1995 for "U.N.I.T.Y."

The triumph of urban music is only the most obvious story this year, standing out amid an increasingly crowded Grammy landscape. At the 1959 ceremony, gold-plated Victrolas were handed out to winners in 28 categories; this year, the academy's 12,000 music professionals voted on nominees in 107 categories (up two from 2004), in 31 genres.

Awards in about 95 categories will be doled out during a pretelecast ceremony that commences at 1:30 p.m. Sunday; the astonishing two-hour-plus sprint goes unseen by the public, but the winners -- some of whom go on to take big nighttime awards -- are acknowledged in graphics screened during the Grammy broadcast. A dozen awards, including the top four prizes, will be presented during the evening show, set to air live on CBS at 8 p.m. EST/PST.

Handicapping big Grammy winners has become an annual parlor game among members of the media and music obsessives. There are no sure things regarding who will take home statuettes, and while history has proved that certain nominees enjoy an edge -- those with towering sales figures, those who have enjoyed breakout years or high critical heat and those who have struck a sentimental note among voters -- one can never discount the element of pure surprise.

One thing is sure, though: Grammy voters love a televised coronation, and multiple winners are practically an annual certainty. This year's big nominees fit neatly into the awards-friendly pockets:

Sales Releasing a blockbuster multiplatinum album has never hampered one's chances to pull down a Grammy mother lode. The most celebrated multiple winner probably is Michael Jackson, whose 1982 release "Thriller"-- still the best-selling noncompilation album of all time -- helped bring the self-styled King of Pop a regal eight Grammys in 1984.

This year's sales behemoth is the ubiquitous R&B loverboy Usher, nominated for eight awards. His LaFace album "Confessions" has spun more than 8 million copies to the U.S. market since its early-2004 release, and that retail clout -- combined with the fact that he has won only two Grammys, both in R&B categories -- makes Usher a leading contender for trophies, especially in the big slots.

Sizzle Great reviews and a speedy embrace by consumers often translate into an armful of statuettes for a gifted newcomer. The winners in question during recent years all have taken home the new-artist trophy, and their magic Grammy number has been five: Former Fugees member Lauryn Hill pulled five Grammys in 1999 behind her solo debut "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill"; singer-pianist Alicia Keys, nominated for eight awards this year, collected five in 2002 for her bow "Songs in A Minor"; and singer-pianist Norah Jones, up for five nods this year, nailed a quintet of statuettes in 2003 for her debut album "Come Away With Me."

This year's supernova talent is do-everything hip-hop performer Kanye West. Already known as a formidable producer and writer, West earned 10 nominations for Roc-A-Fella's "The College Dropout," his top-selling debut as an artist. His combination of sales, positive reviews and pre-awards media attention seemingly guarantees West multiple honors, but whether he will triumph in the major categories -- he is tagged in three of the four, including best new artist -- remains to be seen.

Sentiment At the Grammys, it is never too late for a beloved veteran artist long overlooked at the awards podium: In 2000, guitarist Carlos Santana, acknowledged only once previously by the Recording Academy during a 30-year career, picked up eight Grammys -- including album and record of the year -- for his renaissance release "Supernatural."

Recently deceased performers also generally find favor among academy voters: Last year alone, Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Celia Cruz, George Harrison and Warren Zevon received posthumous Grammys. The same sentimental tide that fueled those awards probably spurred seven noms this year for the late Ray Charles: The American icon's final duets album, the Concord release "Genius Loves Company," has become his greatest commercial triumph, and the Oscar juggernaut that is Universal's Charles biopic "Ray" should help his Grammy chances immeasurably.

Renascent country queen Loretta Lynn remains very much with us and has five noms to her credit for her glowingly received Interscope comeback album "Van Lear Rose." Despite her stature, Lynn has endured a long Grammy drought, having grabbed her lone Victrola in 1972. Another veteran, Prince, has not been recognized by the Recording Academy since his mid-1980s "Purple Rain" heyday, but his rousing performance at last year's Grammys might remain fresh in the minds of voters mulling five mentions for his Columbia/NPG album "Musicology."

Surprise Dark horses always can emerge from the pack, but that is not the hallmark of a ceremony often accused of predictability. That said, this year's Grammy dark horse is, plainly, Green Day: The pop-punk doofuses, who scored a single statuette a decade ago for their major-label debut outburst "Dookie," have raised eyebrows and rung up sales with their ambitious, conceptual Reprise release "American Idiot." A surprise nominee in the album-of-the-year and record-of-the-year categories (among its six overall mentions), the Bay Area trio might receive a shock themselves when the envelopes are opened Sunday.