In any medium or artistic discipline, there will usually be an institution that acknowledges the best of the best within that world. Music is no different, with love being shown to artists' accomplishments through media outlets with year-end lists or entire days and street names being named after rappers. One of the most popular ways in hip-hop that separates the good from the great is award shows. When trophies are handed out for everything from having a great single to a legendary album, it's a major feat. Rap music has plenty of heavy-hitters in the awards space despite the genre still not fully getting the flowers it rightfully deserves. To celebrate the big wins rappers have been receiving over the years, XXL highlights the rappers who have racked up plenty of awards, from old-school living legends to some of the newer names. Specifically, the focus is on the Grammy Awards, Billboard Music Awards, BET Awards, BET Hip-Hop Awards, American Music Awards and MTV Video Music Awards.
Two of modern rap's biggest superstars, Drake and Kendrick Lamar, have won a lot of awards while blowing up in the same era. Drake was recently given the Artist of the Decade award by Billboard, and has an eye-popping 26 awards from the institution before that honor. Kendrick Lamar has been quiet on the music front for a while, but his trophy case must make plenty of noise in his crib. K-Dot has 13 Grammy wins, the most recent of which is a 2019 Best Rap Performance award for "Kings Dead" with Jay Rock, Future and James Blake. Awards will never be everything, but the amount of hardware Drake and Kendrick have received illustrates their stature in hip-hop.
This list also has rappers who have been 20-plus years deep in rap stardom. Jay-Z and Eminem, two artists who are widely recognized as hip-hop legends, have trophy cases that reflect that. Jay has 23 Grammys and 22 BET Hip-Hop Awards, plus 14 MTV Video Music Awards. If it's a marquee music awards show, Hov cleaned up there. Em isn't far off either, with 15 Grammys, 17 Billboard Music Awards and tying Jay-Z with 14 MTV Video Music Awards. These two lauded artists prove longevity offers more room for accolades.
From Kanye West to Lil Wayne and more, check out the respected rappers who won the most awards below.