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Key Takeaways
- Kendrick Lamar only took home one award despite leading with 10 nominations.
- SZA, Doechii and The Weeknd dominated the Hip Hop and R&B categories with major wins.
- Eminem’s surprise win over Kendrick Lamar and Drake sparked reactions across social media.
The wait is finally over. On Monday (May 26) night, some — though definitely not all — of the biggest names in music came together for the 2025 American Music Awards after a two-year hiatus.
Though Kendrick Lamar led nominations heading into the night with an impressive 10 nods, he surprisingly took home just one trophy award: Favorite Hip Hop Song for “Not Like Us,” one of his three entries in the category. Instead, the big story of the ceremony ended up being Billie Eilish, who cleaned house with a total of seven wins.
Despite a few surprises, the AMAs still delivered plenty of big wins for Hip Hop and R&B artists — and yes, country too, if we’re counting Beyoncé’s victories. Take Lamar’s “Grand National Tour” co-headliner for example; SZA snagged Favorite Female R&B Artist and Favorite R&B Song for “Saturn.” Also representing Top Dawg Entertainment was Doechii, whose “Anxiety” won Social Song of the Year.
In the other rap categories, Eminem’s Best Male Hip Hop Artist win shocked some viewers — including streamer Kai Cenat — as he beat Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Future and Tyler, The Creator. The decision raised a few eyebrows, especially considering only one nominee notably won a rap battle in 2024 and landed a Super Bowl performance the next year. The “Stan” rapper, like many other winners, didn’t appear in person but thanked fans through a pre-recorded message.
Eminem also walked away with Favorite Hip Hop Album for The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce). Megan Thee Stallion grabbed Favorite Female Hip Hop Artist over Doechii, Latto, GloRilla and Sexyy Red, all of whom have had great runs lately.
SZA may have scored two major wins in R&B, but The Weeknd took home the two other big wins: Best Male R&B Artist and Favorite R&B Album for Hurry Up Tomorrow. Other winners of the evening included Tyla, Post Malone and Bruno Mars. See the full list of Hip Hop and R&B winners below.
Social Song of the Year
Chappell Roan – “HOT TO GO!”
Djo – “End of Beginning”
Doechii – “Anxiety”
Lola Young – “Messy”
Shaboozey – “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Tommy Richman – “MILLION DOLLAR BABY”
Favorite Male Hip Hop Artist
Drake
Eminem
Future
Kendrick Lamar
Tyler, The Creator
Favorite Female Hip Hop Artist
Doechii
GloRilla
Latto
Megan Thee Stallion
Sexyy Red
Favorite Hip Hop Album
Eminem – The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)
Future and Metro Boomin – WE DON’T TRUST YOU
Gunna – One of Wun
Kendrick Lamar – GNX
Tyler, The Creator – CHROMAKOPIA
Favorite Hip Hop Song
Future, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar – “Like That”
GloRilla – “TGIF”
GloRilla and Sexyy Red – “WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Kendrick Lamar and SZA – “luther”
Favorite Male R&B Artist
Bryson Tiller
Chris Brown
PARTYNEXTDOOR
Usher
The Weeknd
Favorite Female R&B Artist
Kehlani
Muni Long
Summer Walker
SZA
Tyla
Favorite R&B Album
Bryson Tiller – Bryson Tiller
PARTYNEXTDOOR – PARTYNEXTDOOR 4 (P4)
PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake – $ome $exy $ongs 4 U
SZA – SOS Deluxe: LANA
The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow
Favorite R&B Song
Chris Brown – “Residuals”
Muni Long – “Made For Me”
SZA – “Saturn”
The Weeknd and Playboi Carti – “Timeless”
Tommy Richman – “MILLION DOLLAR BABY”
