Over this past weekend, Kendrick Lamar made Grammy history by surpassing Jay-Z for the most golden gramophones ever awarded to a rapper. He passed his New York elder by two, with the current tallies being 27 for the former and 25 for the latter.
It was anticipated that going into the 68th Grammys that Lamar would achieve this and sure enough, he did. Hov had been the record holder after surpassing Kanye West in 2025 with a songwriting credit on Beyonce's COWBOY CARTER.
But even though he's not at the mountain top any more in this regard, Jay didn't let his ego get in the way. According to Fat Joe, the mogul congratulated Kendrick on moving past him in the history books. "I heard Jay-Z congratulated him," the "Lean Back" songwriter said in an interview with Vibe Magazine.
Fat Joe gave him praise as well for the feat, although fans believe his was a bit backhanded. "They just started giving young guys Grammys. When we was coming up, you know, Flavor Flav was like, 'Who gives a damn about a goddamn Grammy.' [That's] 'cause they wasn't giving them to us. So, just know... congratulations Kendrick Lamar," he said while giving an interesting facial expression."
For context, the Compton native is 38 and will be 39 on June 17.
How Many Awards Did Kendrick Lamar Win At The 68th Grammys?
Folks on X immediately called Joe out for the apparent slight with one using Lamar's lyrics on "wacced out murals." "I watch 'em pander with them backhanded compliments."
Another replies, "Kendrick been in the music business 20yrs, mainstream for 15 of em the hell he mean young guys [laughing emoji]." "Why these guys addicted to giving backhanded compliments [two laughing emojis]," a third adds. Aries Gang chimes in, "He could've kept that. That was pathetic."
But regardless of the nature of the congratulations, it doesn't change the fact that Lamar continues to be the most dominant rapper today.
As we stated he was able to pass Jay-Z, doing so with five wins out of nine categories. Amid those awards was a sweep of the rap categories on top of Record of the Year for "luther."
