Key Takeaways:

• Kendrick Lamar earned Billboard’s 2025 R&B/hip hop Artist of the Year title after a 12 months of record-breaking success.
• His single “luther” that includes SZA broke data with a 23-week run at No. 1 on the Hot R&B/hip hop Songs chart.
• Beyond music, Kendrick’s Emmy-winning Super Bowl efficiency and sold-out tour with SZA saved him on the middle of hip hop tradition.

Kendrick Lamar continues to rack up accolades in 2025 — and past. The Compton rapper has been named Billboard’s Top R&B/hip hop Artist of the Year due to his music dominating the charts your entire 12 months.

Ok. Dot’s critically acclaimed GNX album was launched on Nov. 22, 2024, and has maintained its hit-making momentum ever since. Per Billboard, the “Money Trees” rapper was chosen primarily based on his music exercise on the weekly Top R&B/hip hop Albums and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts between Oct. 26, 2024, and Oct. 18, 2025.

The majority of Lamar’s success on Billboard was tied to his “luther” single, which options vocals from SZA. The Luther Vandross-sampling observe, produced by Sounwave and Jack Antonoff amongst others, was an unavoidable smash all of 2025. By June, it music/chart-beat/kendrick-lamar-sza-luther-breaks-record-rb-hip-hop-songs-chart-1235988986/”>broke the document for the longest-running No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/hip hop Songs chart after a 23-week run.

The GNX album itself debuted at No. 1 on the Top R&B/hip hop Albums chart, spent seven weeks on the peak spot, and remained within the prime 10 for many of the 12 months. The LP was filled with charting singles like “tv off,” “peekaboo,” and “squabble up.” The Drake diss observe “Not Like Us” additionally charted all year long.

Beyond the charts, King Kendrick was an ever current and dominant determine within the hip hop zeitgeist. In February, he was the halftime headliner on the NFL’s Super Bowl, which broadcast his skills to a worldwide viewers and earned him an Emmy. The “Grand National Tour” he launched into with SZA was a hit as they routinely sold-out stadiums and featured particular friends for its acclaimed performances all 12 months. It kicked off in April, and the Australian leg continues to be ongoing.

And for subsequent 12 months, Kendrick Lamar is nominated for nine Grammy Awards, together with Album of the Year.