Kendrick Lamar surpasses Jay-Z, Kanye West with historic Grammys run

Kendrick Lamar dominated the 2026 Grammys, taking home the most awards of the night and redefining the hip-hop world.

On Sunday, February 1, the rapper won five out of the nine categories he was nominated for, bringing his total number of Grammy wins to 27. This effectively ends Jay-Z’s long-running reign of the top-winning male artist and rapper with 25 awards. Kanye West follows closely behind 24 trophies.

Lamar’s wins of the night included Record of the Year and Best Melodic Rap Performance for Luther feat. SZA, Best Rap Album for GNX, Best Rap Song for tv off, and Best Rap Performance for featuring on Chains & Whips.

The categories he lost out on were Song of the Year for Luther, Best Pop/ Duo Group Performance for SZA’s 30 for 30, and Best Rap Performance for tv off.

His wins far outweighed his losses, and the weight of the honours wasn’t lost on Lamar. During his acceptance speech for Best rap Album for GNX, he said, “It is hip-hop as usual, man… 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.” 

K. Dot also set multiple other records, including the first male artist to win consecutively in the Record of the Year category, the first rapper to win the category consecutively, and the first rapper to win the award twice — all after winning last year for Not Like Us.