Kendrick Lamar’s GNX has soared to the number one spot on the Billboard 200 with the highest first-week sales for any new rap album this year.
As reported by Billboard, the surprise release debuted at the top of the chart with 319,000 equivalent album units, marking Kendrick’s sixth consecutive number one album.
Out of this total, 285,000 units came from streaming (equating to 379.72 million on-demand streams), while 32,000 were from digital album sales. The remaining 2,000 units were derived from TEA (track equivalent albums).
GNX has the largest sales figure of any new hip-hop album in 2024, surpassing Tyler, The Creator’s Chromakopia (299,500), Eminem’s The Death of Slim Shady (281,000), and Future & Metro Boomin’s We Don’t Trust You (251,000).
The only rapper who sold more units in a single week this year is Travis Scott, whose reissued mixtape Days Before Rodeo opened with 361,000 units. This 2014 project was made available on streaming platforms for the first time in August.
For Kendrick’s catalog, GNX is his third-highest debut in terms of first-week sales, following DAMN. (603,000) and To Pimp a Butterfly (324,000).
His 2022 album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers debuted with 295,000 units, while his 2012 debut good kid, m.A.A.d city sold 242,000 copies in its opening week.
GNX was initially expected to achieve 291,000 units in its first week, but this projection was later revised to a range between 310,000 and 325,000.
This chart-topping debut caps off a remarkable year for Kendrick, further solidifying his legacy after defeating Drake in their highly publicized feud that escalated this past summer.
The crown jewel of his diss track barrage was “Not Like Us,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and set streaming records, becoming the top-selling song in the U.S. this year.
The Mustard-produced anthem has even triggered a legal dispute between Drake and Universal Music Group, with Drake accusing them of using streaming bots and payola to inflate “Not Like Us”’s popularity.
Kendrick is poised for even more success on this week’s Hot 100, with tracks from GNX, “Squabble Up” and “TV Off,” both in contention to top the singles chart.
