Kendrick Lamar has become the most awarded rapper in Grammy Awards history after increasing his career total to 27 wins at the 68th Grammy Awards, surpassing Jay-Z’s long-standing record of 25.

The Compton-born rapper entered the ceremony with 22 Grammy awards, needing at least four wins to move ahead of Jay-Z. During the pre-telecast ceremony, he won Best Rap Performance, Best Melodic Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song, bringing his total to 25 and drawing level with the record.

Later in the night, when Lamar won Best Rap Album for GNX. The award gave him his 26th Grammy, placing him alone at the top of hip-hop’s all-time Grammy winners list. By the end of the ceremony, his tally rose to 27 awards from 66 career nominations.

Lamar’s latest wins place him among the most decorated artists in Grammy history across all genres, ranking behind only Beyoncé, Sir Georg Solti, Quincy Jones, and Chick Corea. Jay-Z had held the record as the most awarded rapper for more than a decade before Lamar overtook him.

At the 2026 ceremony, Lamar’s victories spanned major rap categories. In addition to Best Rap Album, he won Best Rap Song for tv off and Best Melodic Rap Performance for Luther, his collaboration with SZA. He also received Best Rap Performance as a featured artist on Clipse’s Chains & Whips. Luther went on to win Record of the Year, marking another major milestone in his career.

Lamar’s success follows a dominant showing at the 2025 Grammy Awards, when Not Like Us won multiple awards and became one of the most talked-about songs of the year. The track, released during his widely publicised feud with Drake, crossed over from rap audiences into mainstream pop culture.

Although Lamar is yet to win Album of the Year, he has already set records in the category. With the announcement of the 2026 nominations, he became the first rapper to earn five Album of the Year nominations as a lead artist, underlining his sustained critical recognition at the Grammys.