Originally appeared on E! Online
There’s nothing minor about Kendrick Lamar’s latest triumphs.
The rapper scored a huge win at the 2025 Grammy Awards as his single “Not Like Us” took the trophy for Record of the Year one week before his headlining performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show. As he accepted the award, the 37-year-old dedicated the win to his hometown of Los Angeles.
“This is my neck of the woods that held me down since [I was] a young pup,” Lamar said during his acceptance speech at the city’s Crypto.com Arena, “since I was in the studio, scrapping to write the best raps and all that. I can’t give enough thanks to these places that I rolled around since high school.”
After listing several L.A. neighborhoods including his native Compton, Lamar — who is the second rapper to win in the category after Childish Gambino won for “This Is America” in 2019 — made special mention of the areas most affected by the recent wildfires as he recognized “the people and the families out in the Palisades and Altadena.”
“This is a true testament,” he continued, “that we continue to restore this city.”
Within minutes, Lamar was back onstage as the diss track — which took several lyrical jabs at Drake — also won the award for Song of the Year.
“At the end of the day, [there’s] nothing more powerful than rap music,” Lamar declared. “I don’t care what it is, we are the culture. It’s gonna always stay here and live forever.”
He went on to deliver a message to up-and-coming artists, saying, “I just hope you respect the art form — that’s all.”
