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Kendrick Lamar has had no scarcity of reward through the years. He’s had a number of albums find yourself on better of the 12 months/decade/century lists, and even received a Pulitzer Prize — the primary rapper to take action.
That love and acclaim has additionally prolonged to the Recording Academy, which has awarded Lamar a surprising 57 profession GRAMMY nominations. He has taken residence 22 golden gramophones to this point. The Compton rapper garnered one other handful of noms on the 2025 GRAMMYs, most of them for his year-defining Drake diss “Not Like Us,” together with Report and Track Of The 12 months.
Learn extra: 2025 GRAMMYs: See The OFFICIAL Full Winners & Nominations Listing
At Music’s Greatest Evening on Feb. 2, Lamar swept all of his classes, together with the coveted and extremely aggressive Report Of The 12 months and Track Of The 12 months. Following his historic evening, look again at Kendrick Lamar’s historical past with the GRAMMY Awards. Revisit the highs, the lows, the most important awards by no means received — and, sure, even the apologies.
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2014 — 56th GRAMMY Awards
Nominations: Greatest New Artist, Greatest Rap Album (good child, m.A.A.d metropolis), Album Of The 12 months (good child, m.A.A.d metropolis), Greatest Rap Efficiency (“Swimming Swimming pools (Drank)”), Greatest Rap Track (“F—kin’ Issues” with A$AP Rocky, Drake, and 2 Chainz), Greatest Rap/Sung Collaboration (“Now or By no means” with Mary J. Blige), Greatest R&B Efficiency (“How Many Drinks?” with Miguel).
Radioactive”/”m.A.A.D. metropolis” with Think about Dragons
Kendrick Lamar had been effervescent within the rap underground for years, however it wasn’t till the discharge of good child, m.A.A.d metropolis in October 2012 that he exploded into mainstream consciousness.
The album was hailed close to-universally because the finest of the 12 months and established Lamar as a top-tier star, so his seven nominations didn’t come as any shock. He was a sufficiently big deal that he merited almost six minutes of stage time alongside Think about Dragons on the GRAMMY stage. Whereas their duet was an intense efficiency, it proved nowhere close to as arresting or intense as what was to come back in later years.
Learn extra: For The Report: Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Good Child, M.A.A.d Metropolis’ Launched A New Period In Storytelling & West Coast Rap
However right now, virtually none of that’s remembered. What is remembered isn’t one thing that occurred throughout the ceremony, however what occurred afterwards.
Lamar misplaced each award for which he was nominated, even Greatest Rap Album. The winner of that award, Macklemore, was as shocked as anybody. The day after the ceremony, he made public a textual content he despatched to Kendrick after the present. It started, “You bought robbed. I needed you to win. You need to have. It’s bizarre and sucks that I robbed you.”
Making the message public sparked infinite tales and debate. Drake, apparently, was in opposition to Macklemore’s transfer on the time.
2015 — 57th GRAMMY Awards
Wins: Greatest Rap Track (“i“), Greatest Rap Efficiency (“i“)
Kendrick received two golden gramophones in his second trip, however he wasn’t round to simply accept them. Neither he nor another members of his Prime Dawg Leisure crew (which included one other GRAMMY nominee, ScHoolboy Q) confirmed up. Nobody concerned ever known as it a boycott, however their absence was definitely seen by the press.
That stated, not less than one large star was completely satisfied to see Lamar’s victories — Taylor Swift wrote on Twitter that seeing the wins introduced her to tears.
2016 — 58th GRAMMY Awards
Wins: Greatest Rap Efficiency (“Alright”), Greatest Rap Track (“Alright”), Greatest Rap/Sung Collaboration (“These Partitions” with Bilal, Anna Clever and Thundercat), Greatest Music Video (“Unhealthy Blood” with Taylor Swift), Greatest Rap Album (To Pimp a Butterfly)
Nominations: Track Of The 12 months (“Alright”), Greatest Music Video (“Alright”), Greatest Rap Track (“All Day” by Kanye West [as songwriter]), Greatest Dance Recording (“By no means Catch Me” with Flying Lotus), Greatest Pop Duo/Group Efficiency (“Unhealthy Blood” with Taylor Swift), Album Of The 12 months (To Pimp a Butterfly)
“The Blacker the Berry”/”Alright”/”Untitled 5”
If good child, m.A.A.d metropolis was a storm, To Pimp a Butterfly was a tsunami. Kendrick Lamar’s third studio album was a important and cultural phenomenon, and a political one as effectively, as Black Lives Matter protests throughout the nation started utilizing the file’s “Alright” as an anthem.
Learn extra: ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’: Kendrick Lamar shares historical past
GRAMMY voters, and the Academy, have been definitely conscious of all of this. In some ways, “Alright” dominated the evening. Lamar teamed with the Academy to make a brief movie proven on the ceremony that celebrated the rapper’s hometown of Compton. And Kendrick had a completely present stopping efficiency that included “Alright” alongside album reduce “The Blacker the Berry” and an at-the-time unreleased track from the TPAB periods that will later see life as “Untitled 5” on 2016’s untitled unmastered.
Learn extra: The Making Of Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly
This time, Kendrick received Greatest Rap Album. Nevertheless, he misplaced Album Of The 12 months to his pal Taylor’s 1989.
2017 — 59th GRAMMY Awards
Nominations: Album Of The 12 months (Lemonade by Beyoncé [as featured artist]), Greatest Rap/Sung Efficiency (“Freedom” with Beyoncé)
It seems Kendrick didn’t present as much as this 12 months’s version both, as no pictures of him exist that we might discover. Nevertheless, he did ship a congratulatory textual content message to Probability the Rapper after the Chicago rapper received three golden gramophones.
2018 — sixtieth GRAMMY Awards
Wins: Greatest Rap Album (Rattling), Greatest Rap Efficiency (“Humble”), Greatest Rap Track (“Humble”), Greatest Music Video (“Humble”), Greatest Rap/Sung Efficiency (“Loyalty” with Rihanna)
Nominations: Album Of The 12 months (Rattling), Report Of The 12 months (“Humble”)
“XXX”/”DNA”/”New Freezer”/”King’s Lifeless” with U2 and Dave Chappelle
Drake’s now-infamous “Kendrick simply opened his mouth, somebody go hand him a GRAMMY proper now” line might have had its genesis in 2018. This 12 months, it grew to become clear that Lamar’s third album can be met, similar to his first two, with an onslaught of GRAMMY nominations.
Not solely that, however his efficiency with U2 and Dave Chappelle opened the present. The songs, a mixture of materials from Rattling and the just-about-to-be-released Black Panther soundtrack, kicked issues off in an extremely highly effective manner.
“It seems to be like he’s singing and dancing,” Chappelle stated, rightfully, mid-performance. “However this brother’s taking monumental probabilities.”
Learn extra: GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Kendrick Lamar Settle for Greatest Rap Album For ‘DAMN.’ At The 2018 GRAMMY Awards
The probabilities have been rewarded. Kendrick received a number of GRAMMY Awards for the challenge, although he did lose Album and Report Of The 12 months to Bruno Mars. Just some months after the GRAMMYs, Rattling received a Pulitzer Prize.
2019 — 61st GRAMMY Awards
Wins: Greatest Rap Efficiency (“King’s Lifeless” with Jay Rock, Future, and James Blake)
Nominations: Album Of The 12 months (Black Panther: The Album), Report of the 12 months (“All the Stars” with SZA), Track Of The 12 months (“All the Stars” with SZA), Greatest Rap/Sung Efficiency (“All the Stars” with SZA), Greatest Track Written for Visible Media (“All the Stars” with SZA), Greatest Rap Track (“King’s Lifeless” with Jay Rock, Future, and James Blake), Greatest Rap Track (“Win” with Jay Rock)
Kendrick was the most-nominated artist on the 2021 GRAMMYs, with eight nods (together with two in a single class). But he ended the evening with a single win for his contribution to the Black Panther soundtrack.
Lamar, together with Drake and Infantile Gambino, turned down the prospect to carry out on the ceremony. Though not one of the artists commented publicly about their selections, some observers tied it to the shortage of wins for hip-hop in main classes like Album Of The 12 months.
2022 — sixty fourth GRAMMY Awards
Wins: Greatest Rap Efficiency (“Household Ties” with Child Keem)
Nominations: Greatest Rap Track (“Household Ties” with Child Keem)
After a number of years with out new music — and thus with out GRAMMY nominations — Lamar returned to Music’s Greatest Evening in 2022. He introduced somebody with him this time: his cousin, rapper Child Keem.
Their duet “Household Ties” was Lamar’s first new launch in a number of years, and was duly rewarded with two GRAMMY nominations and one win.
Watch: Child Keem Wins Greatest Rap Efficiency | 2022 GRAMMYs
2023 — sixty fifth GRAMMY Awards
Wins: Greatest Rap Album (Mr. Morale & the Massive Steppers), Greatest Rap Efficiency (“The Coronary heart Half 5”), Greatest Rap Track (“The Coronary heart Half 5”)
Nominations: Album Of The 12 months (Mr. Morale & the Massive Steppers), Report of the 12 months (“The Coronary heart Half 5”), Track Of The 12 months (“The Coronary heart Half 5”), Greatest Music Video (“The Coronary heart Half 5”), Greatest Melodic Rap Efficiency (“Die Onerous” with Blxst and Amanda Reifer)
With a long-awaited new album eligible, Kendrick once more garnered eight nominations — the second-most of the evening behind Beyoncé. Profitable Greatest Rap Album for Mr. Morale & the Massive Steppers appeared to imply a fantastic deal to him, as he spoke of the “braveness and vulnerability” it took to “share my fact” in his acceptance speech.
Learn extra: How Kendrick Lamar’s 2023 GRAMMYs Wins Bolstered His GRAMMYs Legacy
“We are saying issues to impress ideas and emotions and feelings,” he continued on the GRAMMY stage. “This was one among my hardest data to make… I lastly discovered imperfection with this album.”
2024 — 66th GRAMMY Awards
Nominations: Greatest Rap Efficiency (“The Hillbillies” with Child Keem), Greatest Music Video (“Rely Me Out”), Greatest Music Movie (Reside from Paris, The Massive Steppers Tour)
In a 12 months spent largely touring Mr. Morale & the Massive Steppers, Kendrick nonetheless managed three nominations, although no wins. Appropriately, one of many noms was for a live performance movie of the aforementioned tour, and one other was for a music video for a observe from the album. The third was for the enjoyable loosie “The Hillbillies,” a duet with Child Keem — who, it must be famous, was a gap act on the Massive Steppers Tour.
2025 — 67th GRAMMY Awards
Nominations: Report of the 12 months (“Not Like Us”), Track Of The 12 months (“Not Like Us”), Greatest Rap Efficiency (“Not Like Us”), Greatest Rap Efficiency (“Like That” with Future and Metro Boomin), Greatest Rap Track (“Not Like Us”), Greatest Rap Track (“Like That” with Future and Metro Boomin), Greatest Music Video (“Not Like Us”)
Wins: Greatest Rap Efficiency, Greatest Rap Track, Greatest Music Video, Report Of The 12 months, Track Of The 12 months
This 12 months, rap beef led to awards season success. “Like That,” which turned the Kendrick Lamar/Drake conflict from chilly to sizzling, merited two nominations, whereas the beef-ending cultural behemoth “Not Like Us” ended up with 5, together with each Report and Track Of The 12 months — a measure of the track’s completely meteoric influence. After successful Greatest Rap Track and Efficiency and Greatest Music Video earlier within the evening, Lamar triumphed on the GRAMMY stage. Throughout his acceptance speech for Report Of The 12 months, Lamar devoted his win to Los Angeles.
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“We gon’ dedicate this one to the town,” he stated, shouting out his hometown of Compton, together with Watts, Lengthy Seaside, Inglewood, and a number of other different locales. “I can’t give sufficient thanks to those locations that I rolled round since highschool, and most significantly the folks and the households out in Palisades and Altadena. It is a true testomony that we are going to proceed to revive this metropolis.”
Lamar and producer Mustard rapidly returned to stage to nab a golden gramophone for Track Of The 12 months. “That is what it’s about man, as a result of on the finish of the day, nothing is extra highly effective than rap music,” Lamar stated. “We’re the tradition, it’s gonna at all times keep right here and stay endlessly.”
Kendrick Lamar once more went into Music’s Greatest Evening with the second-most nominations of anybody (as soon as once more, behind Beyoncé). On the 67th GRAMMY Awards, he is tied for second-most nominations with Billie Eilish, Publish Malone, and Charli XCX.
Study extra: Who Found Kendrick Lamar? 9 Questions About The ‘GNX’ Rapper Answered
