Kendrick Lamar skips Grammys despite Best Rap Performance win – four years after latest AOTY snub

In 2014, Lamar lost Best Rap Album to Macklemore

Baby Keem collected his joint win with Kendrick Lamar alone after the latter failed to show at the Grammy Awards on Sunday (3 April).

The pair won Best Rap Performance at the Las Vegas ceremony for their song, “Family Ties”. Keem thanked Lamar, among others, after being presented the award by Ludacris.

It’s been four years since Lamar was snubbed for the top gongs, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year at the 2018 Grammys for his album Damn. Many argued that Lamar should have won similar awards in 2014 and 2016, but was snubbed then too.

Most notably, his critically lauded debut studio album Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City lost Best Rap Album to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis‘ The Heist. “[The Grammy defeats] would have been upsetting to me if I’d known that was my best work, if I had nothing new to offer,” Lamar told Billboard in 2016.

Drake’s Certified Lover Boy single “Way 2 Sexy” was also originally competing in the Best Rap Performance category before the Canadian rapper withdrew his nominations.

In 2020, the “Toosie Slide” singer spoke out against the Grammys after fellow Canadian singer The Weeknd walked away with zero nominations despite having multiple hits in the year.

Follow live updates from the Grammy Awards here. See the updated list of winners in full here.