Kendrick Lamar breaks new Billboard record
Kendrick Lamar continues to make history following his performance during the Super Bowl halftime show. The Compton artist is the first rapper to simultaneously have three albums on the Billboard 200 chart.
His GNX album, released in November, returned to number one on the chart this week in the United States. The project climbed from number four due to the momentum of the Super Bowl and the album’s physical release, which had previously only been available through streaming and digital purchases.
Elsewhere, Kendrick’s 2017 album DAMN went from number 29 to ninth in the chart, while 2012’s good kid, m.A.A.d city jumped from 27 to 10th. The latest Billboard 200 reflects activity in the US for the week ending February 13th.
GNX sold 236,000 units last week, comprising 1117,000 SEA units, 116,000 album sales and 3,000 TEA units. In comparison, GNX opened on the Billboard 200 with 319,000 units. Kendrick is the first living male artist to have three albums in the top 10.
Taylor Swift is the most recent artist overall, having three albums in the top 10 in December 2023. Before Kendrick and Swift, Prince was the last artist to have three top 10s simultaneously following his death in 2016.
Kendrick headlined the Super Bowl on February 9th, bringing out SZA, Samuel L Jackson, Serena Williams and Mustard during an epic set. The performance saw him deliver his Drake diss tracks ‘Euphoria’ and ‘Not Like Us’, which have been a huge conversation topic since.
As for GNX, Kendrick surprise-released the album on November 22nd with features from SZA, Roddy Ricch and many others. The project was primarily produced by Sounwave and Jack Antonoff, with additional Mustard and Kamasi Washington work. It was his first album after leaving Top Dawg Entertainment, having dropped Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers in 2022.
Speaking of the sound on GNX, Kendrick told Apple Music’s Ebro Darden and Nadeska Alexis, “I always had that DNA. You heard that DNA a little bit on good kid, m.A.A.d city but I wanted to tell my story first. Fast forward to GNX, I just felt it was a perfect time because not only was the energy lost, but it was an energy that was bubbling inside of me as well.”
He continued, “I wanted to go back to the bite and the grit of rap. Just all raps and hard-ass beats. That’s the basics for me. I thought about what I used to like when I was a kid: hard raps and good beats that’s smacking.”