“Say Drakes name, gain a prize”: Netizens react to Kendrick Lamar winning an Emmy award for his Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show

Kendrick Lamar won an Emmy award at the 2025 Creative Arts Emmys on Sunday, September 7. His performance at the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show in February this year won him the Outstanding Music Direction award.

The 2025 Creative Arts Emmys generally take place a week before the main television Emmys. It recognises the people behind the scenes of television shows, events, and more. On Sunday, the event took place at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles.

Kendrick Lamar and his co-nominee, Tony Russell, won the Outstanding Music Direction award for the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show. The rapper performed at the show on February 9, 2025, and included cameos from the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and Serena Williams.

Fans online have shared their reaction to Lamar's win online, as one X (formerly Twitter) user referenced his beef with Drake, writing:

"Say Drakes name, gain a prize"

Jimmy Valentino 🦉

@drizzyvalentino

@Kurrco Say Drakes name, gain a prize 🏆

Another X user tweeted,

Rayo

@Rayo84883994321

@Kurrco Buddy won an award for talking about Drake in bell bottom jeans Foh 😂🫵🏾

Another netizen commented,

wubs 🌊

@whamified

@Kurrco “Kendrick just opened his mouth Someone go hand him a Grammy right now”

Many fans shared their joy at Lamar winning the award, as one wrote,

Beloved Bone

@BelovedBone

@Kurrco Greatest ever 🐐

Another commented,

RUserious1969

@userious1952028

@Kurrco 2 Emmys within 5 years for 2 great SB performances Congratulations Kendrick

Another wrote,

Red Flight

@redFlight_of

@Kurrco Kendrick’s performance was a masterpiece, the kind of art that leaves a mark. 🏆🎤 No surprise he's taking home the Emmy — it's like breathing for him at this point!

This is Kendrick's second Emmy Award, having won the previous one in 2022, for his performance on the Super Bowl Halftime Show, which was headlined by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg and also featured Eminem, 50 Cent, and Mary J. Blige. Moreover, Lamar also won the Best Cinematography Award for Not Like Us at the 2025 MTV VMAs on Sunday, September 7.

---

Drakeo's father claimed Kendrick Lamar used his late son's style for GNX

67th GRAMMY Awards - Press Room (Image Source: Getty)

Kendrick Lamar released his sixth studio album, GNX, on November 22, 2024. It received huge acclaim from both fans and critics and won the Album of the Year award at the BET Awards 2025. However, in an interview on the No Jumper Podcast, published on August 18, Drakeo The Ruler's father claimed Lamar copied his late son's style.

He said that when he heard GNX, it reminded him a lot of Drakeo's flow and pattern.

"I'm like, 'Oh, this is one of my son's songs that I haven't heard yet.' And that's not Draco. That's Kendrick Lamar. I'm like, 'Wait, that's Kendrick Lamar?' He sounds just like [Drakeo]. And then that's when I knew right there, this guy, he sounds the rhyme pattern, the syncopation, all of that was the same. The flow, everything was the same," explained Drakeo The Ruler's father.

When asked if he believes Lamar should have given credit to his late son, he said:

"Now, far as him giving him the props, maybe it was a political thing. Maybe it was politics, you know what I'm saying? I can't be going on that bandwagon right now. What I'm trying to do, I'm trying to make this positive movement, you know, right now with, you know, these rappers and this rap stuff ... but at some point , you got to keep it real."

Drakeo The Ruler was a rapper from California, whose real name was Darrell Wayne Caldwell. He died in a tragic stabbing incident in 2021.

---