Kendrick Lamar has officially become the most-awarded hip-hop artist in Grammy Awards history, setting a new record at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.
The rapper added four more trophies to his collection on the night, winning Best Rap Album for GNX, Best Rap Song for “TV Off,” Best Melodic Rap Performance for “Luther,” and Best Rap Performance for his feature on Clipse’s “Chains & Whips.” The wins brought Lamar’s total Grammy count to 26, surpassing Jay-Z’s previous record of 25 awards and Kanye West’s 24.
Lamar still has the chance to extend his record further, with major categories such as Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Album of the Year yet to be announced.
While accepting the award for Best Rap Album, Lamar reflected on hip-hop’s enduring influence and his place within the culture.
“It is hip-hop as usual, man. I’m not good at talking about myself, but I express it through the music. It’s an honor to be here,” he said. “Hip-hop is going to always be right here… We are going to be having the culture with us. So I appreciate y’all. God is to glory. Love y’all.”
Lamar entered the night with 22 Grammy wins from 57 nominations and earned nine nominations this year alone, including Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Record of the Year. He was already the third-most awarded rapper before Sunday’s ceremony and picked up three awards ahead of the live CBS broadcast.
In 2025, Lamar also dominated the Grammys with his hit single “Not Like Us,” a widely discussed diss track aimed at Drake, which swept five categories on its own.
The Compton rapper has now won Best Rap Album three times, for To Pimp a Butterfly (2016), DAMN. (2018) and Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2023). His 2012 breakthrough album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, famously lost to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ The Heist—a decision that sparked widespread backlash and prompted Macklemore to later admit in a text message, “You got robbed.”
With his latest achievement, Kendrick Lamar further cements his legacy as one of the most influential and celebrated artists in hip-hop history.
