Kendrick Lamar Matches One Of Prince’s Amazing Chart Showings

Kendrick Lamar may very well be the hottest musician in the world right now, and the rapper couldn’t have had a better February. e won five new Grammys, including Record and Song of the Year, making history as he did. Just days later, he headlined the Super Bowl Halftime Show, which is widely regarded as the biggest stage possible for any artist.

Just one of those events would have been enough to help Lamar’s standing on the Billboard charts. Both of them combined ensure that he not only rises on a number of rankings in the United States, but also breaks records as he soars.

Lamar fills three spaces inside the top 10 on the Billboard 200 this time around. His latest full-length, GNX, bolts back to No. 1, while DAMN. and Good Kid, M.A.A.D City lift from Nos. 29 and 27, respectively, to Nos. 9 and 10, respectively.

According to Billboard, Lamar is the first rap musician to claim three of the top 10 biggest albums in the U.S. at the same time. The Billboard 200 is a consumption chart, meaning it ranks the most-consumed albums, and uses a methodology that combines pure purchases, streams, and the sales of individual tracks featured on one project or another.

The music magazine also states that Lamar is the first living male musician to claim at least a trio of spaces inside the Billboard 200’s top 10 in more than half a century. The last time a solo male act (that was still alive) managed the same feat was at the end of 1966 when Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass band did the same.

It was only about a decade ago that another male musician accomplished the same feat, though sadly, he wasn’t around to enjoy the success. Following his shocking death in 2016, Prince claimed half of the entire top 10 on the Billboard 200.

Among Lamar’s three current top 10 wins, two of them have already taken a turn at No. 1. Both GNX and DAMN. have previously led the charge. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, which helped establish Lamar as not just a hitmaker, but one of the most exciting new names in hip-hop many years ago, peaked at No. 2.