Kendrick Lamar made history at the 68th Grammy Awards on Sunday night. He became the first artist since 2010 to win Record of the Year in back-to-back ceremonies, securing the 2026 prize for his collaboration with SZA, “Luther.”
This monumental win follows his 2025 victory in the same category for his massive Drake diss track, “Not Like Us.”
Lamar’s consecutive success solidifies his place as one of the most celebrated artists in modern music.
RELATED STORIES
The Compton native now joins a select group of only four acts—including Billie Eilish, U2, and Roberta Flack—to ever achieve back-to-back Record of the Year wins.
Lamar’s song “Luther,” from his sixth studio album GNX (November 2024), mainly samples Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s 1982 duet “If This World Were Mine.” This duet is a famous cover of the soulful classic first released by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell in 1967 on Gaye’s album United, according to the LA Times.
Vandross died in 2005.
Before he received the award, however, there was slight confusion. Cher, the iconic singer and actress, announced the award winner after receiving a lifetime achievement award herself.
Initially, she only said Luther Vandross’ name, causing a moment of noticeable confusion. She then started to walk offstage but quickly returned to read the full list of nominees. There was a brief period where she seemed unsure where to find the winner’s name on the card or teleprompter, but she eventually realized the award was for the song that sampled Vandross’ work.
“Luther Vandross,” Lamar said during his acceptance speech, “is one of my favorite artists of all time. They granted us the privilege to do our version of it. When we got that clearance, I promise you we damn near all dropped a tear because we know how much him and Cheryl Lynn poured into that record, and being able to put our vocals in it, it proves we were somewhat worthy to be just as great as them individuals. The only catch was they couldn’t curse.”
“Luther forever. Cheryl, thank you so much,” Lamar said, closing out his acceptance speech.
The musician secured a total of five trophies that evening, elevating his career total to 27 and officially surpassing Jay-Z to claim the record for the most wins by a rapper.
Lamar’s victories were especially emphasized by the prestigious Best Rap Album and the highly contested Record of the Year for his critically acclaimed song “Luther,” which featured a powerful collaboration with SZA. He also took home the award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for the same impressive track.
With over 1.3 billion streams on Spotify, Lamar’s track, “Luther,” became the longest-reigning single of 2025 on Billboard’s Hot 100, dominating the chart for 13 weeks. The song was produced by a team that included Jack Antonoff, Bridgeway, M-Tech, Roselilah, Sounwave, and Kamasi Washington.
Additionally, he earned the best rap song award for “TV Off” and the best rap performance award for Clipse’s “Chains & Whips,” marking Clipse’s first-ever Grammy win.
Lamar, who entered the night as the most nominated artist, secured the largest number of awards, cementing his status as one of the most recognized figures in modern music.
