Kendrick Lamar has become the most awarded hip-hop artist in Grammy history. The prestigious title was previously held by Jay-Z. At the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, Lamar took home five more awards, making his total wins a whopping 27.
At the 2026 Grammy Awards this past Sunday, Lamar saw just as much success as he did last year. Lamar received a total of nine nominations, five of which he won. His major awards included Best Rap Album for GNX, Best Rap Song for “tv off,” and Record of the Year for “luther.” The rapper has won Best Rap Album a total of four times for To Pimp a Butterfly (2016), DAMN. (2018), Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers (2023), and GNX (2026).
Lamar’s record-breaking album, GNX, was surprise-released in November of 2024, which made the album ineligible for the 2025 Grammys. Although the album could not be nominated that year, it didn’t stop his legendary single, “Not Like Us,” from sweeping the categories. At the 67th Grammy Awards last year, Lamar won five out of seven of his nominations. These wins included Record and Song of the Year, Best Rap Song, Best Music Video, and Best Rap Performance, all for “Not Like Us.”
Lamar released “Not Like Us” on May 4, 2024, following “Meet the Grahams” that came out just the day before. The diss-track saw massive commercial success, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has amassed over 1 billion streams on Spotify.
In April of 2025, the rapper embarked on a tour that he co-headlined with SZA, which has become the highest-grossing hip-hop tour of all time. The historical tour surpassed the record that was previously held by Drake. In total, The Grand National Tour sold over 1 million tickets and generated over 350 million in revenue. All of these achievements have cemented the rapper’s intellectual and creative prowess.
