Kendrick Lamar Wins Outstanding Music Direction Emmy for 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show

The award is Lamar’s second Emmy.

Kendrick Lamar won the 2025 Creative Emmy for Outstanding Music Direction on Sunday, September 7, for The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar. He shares the prize with co-musical director Tony Russell. The award is the rapper’s second Emmy – he received his first for outstanding variety special in 2022 for The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show, which also featured Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige.

Lamar’s 2025 halftime show was nominated for a total of seven Emmys. The 15-minute performance featured Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam, a guest appearance from SZA, Serena Williams crip-walking and, after much speculation, the Drake diss “Not Like Us” as the show’s finale.

Since then, the rapper teamed up with co-headliner SZA for the Grand National Tour, which opened on April 19, 2025, visiting cities across the U.S., U.K., and Europe throughout the spring and summer. He was also featured on Clipse’s track “Chains & Whips” from Let God Sort Em Out, produced by Pharrell Williams.