Kendrick Lamar outshined Drake at the 2025 BET Awards with five wins, including Album of the Year and Best Male Hip-Hop Artist.
Kendrick Lamar dominated the 2025 BET Awards on Sunday (June 9) at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, walking away with the night’s biggest haul and edging out Drake in several major categories.
Lamar, who led the field with 10 nominations, collected five trophies, including Album of the Year for GNX, Best Male Hip-Hop Artist—his record-setting eighth win in that category—and Video of the Year for his chart-topping Drake diss track “Not Like Us.”
He also picked up Best Collaboration for “Luther” featuring SZA and Video Director of the Year alongside longtime creative partner Dave Free.
The Album of the Year win ties Lamar with Beyoncé for the most wins in that category since its inception in 2017.
During his acceptance speech, Lamar kept it grounded and grateful.
“BET always make sure they represent the culture right and always put me in the midst of the cycle of what we represent, and that’s real true down-to-earth music that people can feel,” he said.
He also gave thanks to God and his PGLang team before offering a nod to SZA.
“SZA in the crowd,” he added. “We are on tour right now; please come to the show.”
Host Kevin Hart surprised Lamar with his other trophies after he had collected his win. “You’ve been winning all year,” Hart joked. “So I figured I’d just get in front of it.”
He also teased, “That’s your problem,” as Lamar struggled to hold his bevy of awards.
The ceremony marked the 25th anniversary of the BET Awards. The night featured performances from Lil Wayne, GloRilla, Playboi Carti, Leon Thomas and more.
Kendrick Lamar’s five wins made him BET’s most-awarded artist of the night.
