Kendrick Lamar has already achieved what few other rappers have in his Pulitzer Prize-winning career, but he could write himself further into the history books this weekend at Music’s Biggest Night a.k.a the Grammy Awards.
The Compton kingpin enters the 2025 ceremony, which takes place on Sunday (February 2) at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, with seven nominations across five categories, the third most this year behind Charli XCX and Post Malone (8) and Beyoncé (11).
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Mr. Muthafuck The Big Three, It’s Just Big Me is up for two of the Big Four prizes, Record of the Year and Song of the Year, for his Earth-shaking Drake diss song “Not Like Us.”
Kendrick also has two horses each in the race for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance thanks to “Not Like Us” and “Like That,” his blistering collaboration with Future and Metro Boomin that ignited his feud with the 6 God, while the former is also in contention for Best Music Video.
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If “Not Like Us” wins in any of the categories it’s nominated in, it will become the first ever diss song to win a Grammy.
Only a handful of rappers have come close in the past. Coincidentally, Drake’s “Back to Back,” the knockout blow in his feud with Meek Mill, was the first full-fledged diss track to be nominated for a Grammy in 2016 in the Best Rap Performance category.
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Also coincidentally, it lost out to Kendrick’s “Alright.”
Lil Kim‘s “Came Back For You,” which contained jabs at Eve and Foxy Brown, was previously nominated in the since-defunct Best Female Rap Solo Performance category in 2004.
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Though not a diss song in the context of a rap beef, Eminem‘s “Without Me,” which took aim at everyone from Moby and Limp Bizkit to then-vice president Dick Cheny and his own mother Debbie Nelson, was up for both Record of the Year and Best Male Rap Solo Performance the year before.
“Not Like Us” certainly has a good chance of claiming some silverware. Aside from being a devastating lyrical missile that knocked the biggest rapper of the 21st Century off his perch, the Mustard-produced anthem was unavoidable in 2024.
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It surged to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, broke numerous streaming and chart records (many belonging to Drake, to add insult to injury), was a strong contender for song of the summer and ended the year as one of the best-selling songs in the U.S.
It also helped secure Kendrick the most coveted gig in music, the Super Bowl halftime show, and led to Drake filing a bombshell lawsuit against Universal Music Group, who he’s accusing of defamation and harassment over the release and promotion of “Not Like Us.”
Even before these major developments, Kendrick was tipped for success at the 2025 Grammys by the boss man himself, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr.
“Obviously, it’s a hot record, it’s amazing artistry, great writing. The talent on that record is incredible,” he said of “Not Like Us” in an interview with TMZ last June, before the nominees were announced. “You have artists who have been nominated before and Kendrick obviously has been successful in the organization.”
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Asked if the explosive nature of the song, which hilariously labels Drake a “certified pedophile,” would deter the Grammys from recognizing “Not Like Us,” Mason replied: “I don’t think so. The voting members of the Academy appreciate greatness, appreciate what’s hot, what’s going on.
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“That’s a relevant record, it’s impacting on so many levels with so much creativity and talent. I like to believe that the Academy members recognize that and they vote appropriately.”
“Not Like Us” is a red-hot favorite to win both Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance, especially given Kendrick’s history of sweeping the Hip Hop categories at the Grammys (sorry, JAY-Z). Its stiffest competition arguably comes from Kendrick himself in the form of “Like That.”
The track faces a steeper challenge in the Song of the Year and Record of the Year categories, where it’s up against pop hits like Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather.”
But if “Not Like Us” wins in either of these categories, Kendrick will become just the second rapper to take home Song of the Year or Record of the Year following Childish Gambino, whose “This is America” won both trophies in 2019.
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King Kenny will close in on another huge milestone if he wins every award he’s up for on Sunday night. Going five-for-five will push his career total to 22, putting him within touching distance of eclipsing JAY-Z and Kanye West as the most decorated rapper in Grammys history. The Watch the Throne duo are currently tied with 24 awards each, although Kanye could go one clear if “Carnival” pulls off an upset in the Best Rap Song category.
Keep in mind, Kendrick has been around for much less time than both Jay and Ye, whose first Grammy nominations came in 1999 and 2005, respectively. Kendrick wasn’t recognized by the Recording Academy until 2014, the year his lauded debut good kid, m.A.A.d city was snubbed for Best Rap Album in favor of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ The Heist — a controversial decision that compelled Macklemore to publicly apologize to the TDE star.
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Any success at the 2025 Grammy Awards will put a gilded bow on Kendrick Lamar’s banner year and further solidify his status as the Best Rapper Alive, especially as he prepares to make more history just a week later when he becomes the first Hip Hop artist to headline the Super Bowl halftime show by himself.
That’s enough to make any litigious opponent turn their TV off.
