On Sunday, Kendrick Lamar cemented his spot in music and Grammys history and essentially put the proverbial nail in the coffin once and for all when it comes to his longstanding beef with fellow rapper Drake. And we have the Recording Academy to thank for that.
As the 2025 Grammys neared its end, Lamar was awarded two of the top prizes for Record and Song of the Year for his hit diss track, “Not Like Us.” As previously reported by The Root, the song was up for seven awards in total and took home three of them before the award show was even televised. Those included Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video. With those wins and his additional two, the aforementioned song became the first diss song to EVER win a Grammy.
In his first acceptance speech on Sunday, Lamar shouted out several cities in Los Angeles county that he said helped shaped him including his hometown of Compton, Inglewood, Watts. He also took a moment to shoutout two of the cities that were severely impacted by the devastating wildfires that overtook the city in January, namely Palisades and Altadena.
Lamar also shouted out Dr. Dre and Swizz Beatz, who were seated near the front of the stage before giving the microphone over to his producer, DJ Mustard. While he didn’t have much to say, Mustard appropriately acknowledged the city they were in by simply yelling “WESTSIDE” before the two of them walked off the stage.
Shortly after that, he and Mustard came back onstage to accept the award for Song of the Year which was presented to them by the legendary singer, Diana Ross. Lamar opted to keep this speech short as well but he did take the time to admonish up-and-coming artists to “respect the art form” of rap as it would “take them far.”
With these monumental wins, it should be no question as to who came out on top during this whole months long beef. It should also serve as a reminder to many that the last person you ever want to get in a fight with is Kendrick Lamar. Congratulations Kung Fu Kenny!