Frequent collaborators SZA and Kendrick Lamar have an action-packed few weeks ahead.
First, the Grammy Awards on Sunday, followed by a highly anticipated halftime performance during the Super Bowl in New Orleans the following Sunday. The duo, who have collaborated on seven tracks, will then embark on a 19-city North American tour this spring and summer, starting on April 19 in Minneapolis and concluding on June 18 in Washington, D.C. This follows Lamar’s critically acclaimed album GNX, which included two SZA features, “Luther” and “Gloria.”
Ahead of the Grammys, Super Bowl, and their tour, here’s a look at Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Grammy history.
Kendrick Lamar
K.Dot earned the first of his 57 Grammy nominations in 2013. His second album, 2012’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, was up for Best Rap Album and Album of the Year, with its lead single, “Swimming Pools,” earning a nomination for Best Rap Performance, according to the Grammy Awards. Lamar was also nominated for Best New Artist. Through collaborations “F**kin’ Problems” and “How Many Drinks?”, he was also nominated for Best Rap Song and Best R&B Performance but didn’t win his first Grammy until 2015 when “I” won Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song awards.
Since then, Lamar has become one of the most-awarded rappers in Grammy history with 17: five for 2017’s Damn and its tracks, most notably, “Humble”; Best Rap Performance awards in 2019 and 2022 for “King’s Dead” and “Family Ties”; a Best Rap Album award for Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers; and many others.
This year, his 2024 diss track turned smash hit “Not Like Us” is up for five of the night’s biggest awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Future’s “Like That,” featuring Lamar, is also up for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.
SZA
Since her 2017 album Ctrl cemented her as an R&B queen, SZA has garnered 26 Grammy nominations. At the 2018 awards, several Ctrl tracks were honored: “Love Galore,” “The Weekend,” and “Supermodel” earned nominations for Best Rap/Sung Performance, Best R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song, respectively. Ctrl was up for Best Urban Contemporary Album, and SZA was nominated for Best New Artist.
Her 2018 collaboration with Lamar for Black Panther, “All the Stars,” swept nominations the following year, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The singer snagged her first Grammy win a few years later, in 2022, when Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More,” featuring SZA, won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
Last year’s Grammys saw SZA take home three more gramophone trophies: a Best Progressive R&B Album award for 2022’s SOS, a Best R&B Song one for “Snooze,” and a Best Pop Duo/Group Performance award for “Ghost in the Machine” featuring Phoebe Bridgers.
This year, SZA is nominated for two Grammy Awards for her single “Saturn.” The song is up for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance.
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