Kendrick Lamar Secures Seven Nominations For 2025 Grammys After Drake Beef

BYGabriel Bras Nevares
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Entertainment: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Apr 23, 2017; Indio, CA, USA; Kendrick Lamar performs during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Empire Polo Club. Mandatory Credit: Zoe Meyers/The Desert Sun via USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
You know how the "Family Matters" bar goes...

Kendrick Lamar just opened his mouth... and got seven nominations for the 2025 Grammy Awards, the ceremony for which will take place early next year. Of course, all these nods relate to the explosive battle with Drake from earlier this year, so let's break them down. Starting with his gasoline over a dimly lit fire, the Future and Metro Boomin collab "Like That" was nominated for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song. As for the West Coast banger "Not Like Us," this got a Best Music Video nomination, as well as nods in the following categories: Record of the Year (production), Song of the Year (songwriting), Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song.

Furthermore, we're sure that a whole lot of pgLang riders and OVO Stans alike are debating all this online as we speak. Of course, it's not much of a surprise: Drake himself predicted as such on "Family Matters," and no one can deny the critical, commercial, and cultural impact of these diss tracks. Nevertheless, it now officially joins other Kendrick Lamar debates brought about by his greatness, such as the conversation around his upcoming Super Bowl halftime show next February.

Kendrick Lamar's 2025 Grammy Nominations

In addition, all this news comes as we're witnessing how the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef bled over into other areas beyond hip-hop. Now, the question is whether it will result in an on-court NBA rivalry, as Drizzy attended a Toronto Raptors game against the Sacramento Kings to mean-mug and talk smack about Kings player (and former Raptor) DeMar DeRozan. The Compton native appeared in the now Grammy-nominated music video for "Not Like Us" and popped out onstage at K.Dot's Juneteenth concert.

With all this in mind, it will be very exciting to see if Kendrick Lamar walks away with anything at the 2025 Grammy Awards, although it would just be small additions to much more important victories. Regardless of what you think of the Drake beef, "Not Like Us" in particular transcended its hip-hop environment and the other tracks he released this year rank among the biggest rap moments of not just the year, but the decade. See the full Grammys nominations list for next year by clicking the "Via" link down below.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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