Kendrick Lamar’s reign of terror on the hip-hop industry is far from over. In fact, one person could argue that Kendrick’s run is only just beginning. After taking home five Grammy awards for his 2025 smash hit, Not Like Us, the Compton-born artist is continuing to rack up the accolades.
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Kendrick Lamar’s GNX Reaches Major Milestone
Just as the hype surrounding Not Like Us, is dying down, Kendrick’s latest project is starting to gain some steam. Kendrick dropped GNX in 2024, shortly after he was announced as the headliner for the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Kendrick’s latest project is already headed toward a historic year. Per Chart Data, GNX just became the first hip-hop album to sell over 1 million units in the US in 2025.
Kendrick’s Not Like Us became the theme song of 2024. The track, which takes aim at Drake, cultivated one of the biggest hip-hop rivalries in recent memory. But Kendrick said it was never anything personal. He just enjoys the “sport” aspect of rap beef.
“My intent from day one was to keep the nature of it as a sport. I don’t care how motherfuckers look at it as far as like a collaborative effort. That’s cool too, but I love it when artists grit their teeth,” he said.
“I still watch battle raps, I still watch Smack URL, from Murda Mook to Lux to Tay Roc, my bro Daylyt. This has always been the core definition of who I am. It’s been that way since day one so I don’t think it was a thing for this year. It was always a continuum.”
Now that the dust has settled surrounding, the song Kendrick has had time to reflect on the impacts that his song had on the future. He believes that the domino effect of the song was the breath of fresh air that the genre needed.
“What I will say about this year is that it was more from a space where I think a lot of people was putting rap to the back and you didn’t see that grit, you didn’t see that bite anymore,” he added.
