“I ain’t been here in a long time,” Kendrick said as he accepted the award
Kendrick Lamar took home the award for Album of the Year at the 2025 BET Awards, beating out Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Drake, and more, and adding to the impressive string of accolades for the L.A. rapper following his now-infamous feud with Drake.
His award was presented to him by actor Keke Palmer. During his acceptance speech, he acknowledged that he hasn’t often attended the BET Awards in recent years, but said it’s always been important to him. “I ain’t been here in a long time,” he said, “BET always makes sure that they represent the culture right, and always put me in the midst of the cycle of what we represent, and that’s real, true down to Earth music that people can feel. So I always give my heart to BET.” He looked towards the back of the crowd and showed out “All my L.A. natives” before thanking God and his company, PG Lang.
He also shouted out SZA, who was also in attendance and added, “We on tour right now, please come to the show.” They are in fact in the middle of their Grand National tour, which finishes its North American dates this month and hits Europe in July.
Lamar, who is the night’s most nominated act, was handed a slew of additional trophies by host Kevin Hart, though the particulars of the awards were not named.
