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Awards

Kendrick Lamar Dedicates His Song of the Year Grammy for ‘Not Like Us’ to West Coast Legends

The rapper also reminded young artists watching to "respect the art form."

Kendrick Lamar, "squabble up"
Kendrick Lamar, "squabble up"
Courtesy Photo

Shortly after taking home the Grammy for record of the year, Kendrick Lamar returned to the stage at Crypto.com Arena to accept his second Big Four Grammy for song of the year on Sunday night (Feb. 2) for hit breakout hit “Not Like Us.”

The award was presented by the legend Diana Ross, who offered a somber reflection on the goings on of the world. “How can we have the balance between celebrating and being filled with sorrow? Even as we face trials and tributes with our soul, music brings us home,” she told the audience. “You are not alone, we stand with you, my heart reaches out to you.”


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Appearing from backstage after taking home the prize for record of the year, Lamar immediately started beaming about being handed his second trophy of the evening by The Boss herself. “Damn, that’s Diana Ross,” he said with a laugh. “I’m starstruck.”

After letting his crew get a few words in (including Mustard declaring “somebody get the broom out” for his partner’s apparent sweep), Lamar took a moment to pay tribute to the West Coast rap stars who helped build the lane he occupies today. “All the West Coast artists, from early on — G Malone, Problem, Bad Lucc, K-Bo, Daylyt … these are the cats that inspired me to be the MC I am today,” he said. “Schoolboy, J-Roc, Ab-Soul, this is what it’s about, man. Because at the end of the day, nothing more powerful than rap music — I don’t care what it is. We are the culture.”

With his final words, Lamar offered one final message to any up-and-coming rap artists watching. “To all the young artists, like my man Punch say, I just hope you respect the art form,” he said. “It’ll get you where you need to go.”

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At Sunday night’s ceremony, Beyoncé led the pack of nominees with a whopping 11 nods, with Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, Lamar himself and Post Malone tied for the second most nominations with seven each. Meanwhile, the jam-packed show included performances from stars such as Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Doechii, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Benson Boone and plenty of others.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.

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Canada's Most Influential Executives Celebrated at Billboard Canada Power Players 2025

Billboard Canada CCO Elizabeth Crisante (right) at Billboard Canada Power Players 2025 at the Illuminarium in Toronto on June 11, 2025.

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Canada's Most Influential Executives Celebrated at Billboard Canada Power Players 2025

Billboard Canada gathered music's most influential people at the Illuminarium on June 11 as part of NXNE.

The biggest players in Canada's music industry gathered to celebrate the second edition of Billboard Canada Power Players last week at NXNE. The 2025 edition of the illustrious list was commemorated with an exclusive event at the Illuminarium in Toronto on June 11.

Many of the influential executives honoured on this year's Power Players list were present, as well as their peers in the music industry and many of the managers honoured at the Billboard Canada Managers to Watch event earlier in the day. The wraparound LED screen in the Illuminarium made for an immersive setting and a DJ set from DJ DevoDLive kept the crowd grooving with Afrobeats, dancehall, R&B and hip-hop.

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