Kendrick Lamar is officially the most-awarded rapper in the history of the Grammy Awards, surpassing a long-standing record previously held by Jay-Z.
At the 68th Annual Grammy Awards held at the Crypto.com Arena, Lamar secured five awards, bringing his career total to 27 Grammys.
The milestone moves him past Jay-Z and Kanye West, who each hold 24 and 22 wins, respectively, though Jay-Z is often cited with 25, including collaborative work.
Lamar entered the evening as the night’s most-nominated artist with nine nods following the release of his sixth studio album, GNX.
Kendrick Lamar breaks the record for most-awarded hip-hop artist in #Grammys history with his Best Rap Album win and says, “HipHop is always going to be right here,” during his acceptance speech.https://t.co/SXIIQ2yAaf pic.twitter.com/lxp6pcvVBj
— Variety (@Variety) February 2, 2026
His record-breaking run began at the Grammy Premiere Ceremony, where he collected three awards: Best Rap Performance for his feature on Clipse’s Chains & Whips, which also features Pharrell Williams; Best Melodic Rap Performance for Luther, a collaboration with SZA; and Best Rap Song for TV Off, featuring Lefty Gunplay.
The record-tying 26th win occurred during the televised broadcast when Lamar’s GNX was named Best Rap Album.
The victory marked his fourth career win in that specific category. Later in the evening, he secured his 27th trophy for Record of the Year for Luther.
This win made Lamar one of only four artists in history to win Record of the Year in back-to-back years, following his 2025 win for Not Like Us.
During his acceptance speech for Best Rap Album, Lamar acknowledged his fellow nominees, including Tyler, The Creator and Pusha T of Clipse.
“It is hip-hop as usual, man,” Lamar said. “I’m not good at talking about myself, but I express it through the music. Hip-hop is going to always be right here… We’re going to be having the culture with us. God is the glory.”
The track Luther, which served as a cornerstone for his success at this ceremony, samples the 1982 Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn duet If This World Were Mine.
During the Record of the Year presentation, presenter Cher briefly misread the teleprompter, initially announcing the winner as “Luther Vandross” before correcting herself.
Lamar used the moment to pay tribute to the late soul singer, noting that obtaining the clearance for the sample was a significant emotional milestone for his creative team.
Lamar’s dominance shared the spotlight with other historic firsts.
Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos became the first Spanish-language project to win Album of the Year, while Billie Eilish won Song of the Year for “Wildflower.”
Other notable winners included Olivia Dean for Best New Artist and a first-time win for the Dalai Lama in the Best Audiobook, Narration, and Storytelling Recording category.
With 27 wins from 66 career nominations, Lamar’s trajectory continues to outpace his contemporaries.
His sixth studio album GNX, released in late 2024, has remained a commercial and critical staple, with the single “Luther” spending 13 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 2025.