Kendrick Lamar has won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year at the 2025 Grammy Awards.
The West Coast rapper’s Drake diss track, “Not Like Us,” was up against some pretty tough competition: Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ’Em,” Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather,” Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!,” Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please,” Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight.”
With this win, “Not Like Us” is likely the first-ever blatant diss song to earn the Song of the Year honor. The track, which was released during Lamar and Drake’s memorable feud from last year, essentially led to the GNX rapper being declared winner of the beef. Tonight, Kendrick's "Not Like Us" also took home trophies for Record of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video.
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The track’s blow to the Canadian rapper has resulted in him suing his parent label, Universal Music Group, alleging that its promotion of “Not Like Us” not only defamed him but put his life in danger. Lamar is also part of UMG, thanks to his connections to Interscope Records, which is under UMG. His company, pgLang, is licensed through Interscope; the label also serves as a distributor for Top Dawg Entertainment, which Lamar was a part of.
UMG has denied the claims, saying in a statement, per NPR: "Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist — let alone Drake — is illogical. We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success."
Now having earned Song of the Year, Lamar is prepping for his Super Bowl performance before hitting the road with SZA for a tour.