Kendrick Lamar Makes History With 3 Albums In Billboard Top 10
Kendrick Lamar is back on top. The Compton rapper’s latest album GNX has returned to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart and is joined by two other works, further cementing K. Dot’s legendary status. On the chart dated Feb. 22, 2025, the 37-year-old’s 2017’s DAMN. and 2012’s good kid, m.A.A.d city hold space in the top 10 at no. 9 and 10, respectively.
The chart positions mark the first time in history that a rap act has placed at least three albums concurrently in the top 10. Taylor Swift was the last musician of any genre to complete the feat on the Dec. 9, 2023 chart, with five albums in the top ranking. Before that, Prince was the last artist to claim three albums in the top 10, following his death in 2016.
The achievement comes after GNX became available in physical formatting, as well as Kendrick Lamar’s record-breaking Super Bowl LIX Halftime show. According to Billboard, the last time a Super Bowl halftime performer was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the wake of their halftime performance was Justin Timberlake in 2018.
After the halftime performance, which featured SZA, Serena Williams, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mustard, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” saw a 430% increase on Spotify. The song is not featured on any of the rhymer’s albums. The nine other songs he performed, however, also experienced a significant boost, with “HUMBLE” rising 300%, “Euphoria” seeing 260%, and more.
Additionally, Apple Music also saw Kendrick dominate with GNX reclaiming the No. 1 spot on the streaming platform.
“I have to keep the pen moving. It’s my form of sanity,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper shared with actor Timothée Chalamet ahead of the Super Bowl, per Variety. “And it also has given me the opportunity to learn myself, you know, find out who I am.”
He continued, “A lot of these records I write, man, a lot of stuff I probably would have never expressed or even known about myself if it wasn’t for an instrumental behind it.”
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