Kendrick Lamar’s ‘GNX’ becomes longest-running number one rap album ever
Kendrick Lamar has made history. The Compton rapper’s most recent project, GNX, has become the long-running number one rap album of all time.
GNX has remained at the peak of the Top Rap Albums chart for 22 weeks, beating the previous record holder, Pop Smoke, whose posthumous 2020 album, Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon, stayed at number one for 21 weeks.
Kendrick released GNX in November, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 with 319,000 units in its first week. Its songs ‘Squabble Up’ and ‘Luther’ hit number one on the Hot 100, while ‘TV Off’ hit reached number two.
During an interview with Apple Music ahead of his Super Bowl halftime show, Kendrick explained his intentions with GNX.
“Just hard raps, and hard-ass beats,” he said. “And that’s the basics for me. I thought about, ‘Damn, what I like when I was a kid? Hard raps and good beats that’s smacking, right?’ It was a great transition from Mr Morale, because that was my most intimate. I wanted to go inside my psyche and my withdrawals and see how it connects with the public and who can relate.”
He added, “So, during this time around, I think it was necessary to come out of that cocoon and feel like, ‘OK, I’ve arrived now. I can spread my wings and show every state of who I am as far as Kendrick Lamar.’“
Kendrick will begin the European stretch of his Grand National Tour with SZA on July 2nd. He’s set to perform in Glasgow, Birmingham, Amsterdam, Cardiff, London, Barcelona, Rome and many other major cities. Mustard, who produced ‘TV Off’, ‘Hey Now’ and Kendrick’s ‘Not Like Us’ diss track against Drake, will join them as a support act.