By Gabriel Bras Nevares
November 08, 2025 |
Kendrick Lamar just opened his mouth—and someone might as well hand him nine Grammys already. According to Billboard, the Compton rapper leads all artists this year with nine nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards, announced on Friday (November 9). Following behind are Jack Antonoff, Cirkut, and Lady Gaga with seven nominations each; Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Serban Ghenea, and Leon Thomas with six; and Tyler, The Creator, SZA, Clipse, Doechii, Sounwave, Turnstile, and Andrew Watt with five.
For Kendrick, this marks the third time he has led all artists in Grammy nominations in a single year. At the 2016 ceremony, he earned 11 nominations and took home five awards, while the 2019 show saw him score eight nominations and one win.
He also made history again as the first solo artist ever to receive five consecutive Album of the Year nominations, with this year’s nod coming for GNX. It’s also the third time he has been nominated for Album, Record, and Song of the Year in the same cycle—a feat shared this year with Bad Bunny and Sabrina Carpenter. Additionally, Kendrick became the first rapper to earn five lead Album of the Year nominations, breaking his tie with Kanye West.
When it comes to specific categories, GNX is nominated for Album of the Year and Best Rap Album. His collaboration with SZA, “luther,” is nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Melodic Rap Performance, while their other team-up “30 For 30” received a nod for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Kendrick is also up for Best Rap Performance twice—once for “Chains & Whips” with Clipse and again for “tv off” with Lefty Gunplay—which is also nominated for Best Rap Song.
Hip-hop overall has a major presence at this year’s Grammys. For the first time ever, three albums—GNX, Tyler, The Creator’s CHROMAKOPIA, and Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out—earned nominations for both Album of the Year and Best Rap Album. Another standout moment comes from Doechii, whose track “Anxiety” became the first song in Grammys history to sample a previous winner, Gotye and Kimbra’s “Somebody That I Used To Know,” while being nominated for Record of the Year.
