Kendrick Lamar Wins 2022 BET Award for Best Male Hip Hop Artist

And the winner is…Kendrick Lamar. The Compton, Calif. rapper took home the Best Male Hip Hop Artist award at Sunday night’s BET Awards.

The 22nd version of the yearly award show went down Sunday night (June 26). Following the show, K-Dot was revealed as the winner of this year’s Best Male Hip Hop Artist trophy. Kendrick beat out a list of some of hip-hop’s biggest stars including Drake, Future, J. Cole, Jack Harlow, Kanye West and Lil Baby.

Kendrick’s 2021-2022 credentials include the release of his new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, which dropped in May and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. At last year’s ceremony, Lil Baby won Best Male Hip Hop Artist over DaBaby, Drake, Jack Harlow, J. Cole and Pop Smoke.

The 2022 BET Awards took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and was hosted for the second year in a row by actress Taraji P. Henson. This year’s show featured performances from Chance The Rapper, Roddy Ricch, Lizzo, Latto, Joey Bada$$, 2022 XXL Freshman Doechii and others.

Diddy was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was given to Queen Latifah in 2021. “Diddy has always been a pioneering force in our community, breaking barriers, achieving unprecedented heights, blazing new trails, and, in so doing, raising the bar for all of us,” said BET CEO Scott Mills. “His virtuosity is matched only by his range–from music to media, culture, business, and philanthropy–Diddy has exemplified Black Excellence. We are delighted to have this opportunity to use our biggest stage to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of our friend Diddy.”

Doja Cat led the pack for most nominations at this year’s awards with six, including “Best Female R&B/Pop Artist,” “Best Female Hip Hop Artist,” “Album of the Year” for Planet Her, “Video of the Year” for “Kiss Me More” featuring SZA, “Best Collaboration” for “Kiss Me More” and “BET Her” for “Woman.” Both Drake and Ari Lennox had the second most with four each.