Less than half an hour into the 68th Grammy Awards, Kendrick Lamar already made history.
Lamar became the most-awarded rapper in Grammys history, with 26 total wins. Lamar received three awards during Sunday‘s premiere ceremony before the telecast and is up for more categories throughout the night.
Lamar led nominations for this year’s awards show, with nine total.
He took home the rap album award for “GNX” early in the evening, surpassing the record previously held by Jay-Z, who has 25 wins. Lamar also won for rap song for “TV Off,” melodic rap performance for “Luther” and rap performance for Clipse’s “Chains & Whips.”
“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,” Lamar said while accepting the rap album award. “Hip-hop is going to always be right here. We are going to be in these suits looking good, having our folks with us. We are going to be having the culture with us.”
The Compton-born rapper is still up for major categories, including record of the year, album of the year and song of the year.
Lamar kicked off 2025 with a Super Bowl halftime performance, becoming the first rapper to headline music’s biggest stage as a solo act.
He swept the top awards last year with his hit “Not Like Us.” The song won five awards, including record and song of the year.