Kendrick Lamar totally owned the 2025 BET Awards on Sunday, June 9, at the Peacock Theater in LA. He bagged the most awards for the night, even beating Drake in some major categories. Leading with 10 nominations, Kendrick took home five awards.
These included album of the Year for GNX, Best Male Hip-Hop Artist—his eighth win in this category, a record-setting feat—and Video of the Year for his Drake diss track “Not Like Us.” He also scored Best Unexpected Partnership for “Luther” featuring SZA and Video Director of the Year along with his regular creative buddy Dave Free.
His win for album of the Year puts him on par with Beyoncé for the most wins in that category since it started in 2017. During his acceptance speech, Kendrick was super humble 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 a shout out to God and his PGLang team, and gave a nod to SZA. “SZA in the crowd,” he added. “We are on tour right now; please come to the show.” Kevin Hart, the host of the evening, surprised Kendrick with his other awards after his win. “You’ve been winning all year,” Hart joked. “So I figured I’d just get in front of it.”
Hart also teased Kendrick about his armful of awards, saying, “That’s your problem.” This year marked the 25th anniversary of the BET Awards, with performances from Lil Wayne, GloRilla, Playboi Carti, Leon Thomas, and others. With his five wins, Kendrick Lamar was the star of the night at the BET Awards.
