Kendrick Lamar continues his historic run on the Billboard chart.
There seems to be very little that Kendrick Lamar cannot accomplish. The influential artist has yet another accolade to add to his already impressive collection as his good kid, m.A.A.d city is expected to become the first hip-hop studio album to spend a full ten years on the Billboard 200.
That’s according to Chart Data which confirmed that the album has extended its lead as the longest-charting hip-hop studio album in Billboard history.
According to the latest data from Billboard 200, good kid, m.A.A.d city is currently at the No. 46. What’s even more impressive is that this album is one of three albums from the “Count Me Out” rapper on the chart. This year’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is at No. 26 and 2017’s Pulitzer Prize-winning DAMN is at No. 63.
His first album broke the record for the longest-charting hip-hop studio album in Billboard 200 history back in 2019 when it surpassed Eminem’s The Eminem Show and has spent 520 weeks on the chart. Eminem’s Curtain Call has charted for over 600 weeks but is a compilation and not a studio album.
.@kendricklamar's 'good kid, m.A.A.d city' has now spent 10 full years on the Billboard 200. It’s the first hip-hop studio album in history to reach this milestone.
— chart data (@chartdata) October 17, 2022
In a few days, on October 22, the album will celebrate its 10th anniversary. It definitely was the one that set him apart and confirmed his lyrical and thought-provoking style. The album, which was released via Top Dawg Entertainment, Interscope, and Aftermath, spawned some classics that are still celebrated by hip-hop fans today.
Some of those tracks that are now etched in the genre’s history include “Swimming Pools (Drank),” “B*tch, Don’t Kill My Vibe,” and “Poetic Justice.” The album would debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 after selling 242,000 copies in its first week.
It really was the album that helped set up his career as he went on to claim several nominations at the 2014 Grammy Awards. The album somehow seems to grow in stature, and last year, it was the highest-selling rap album on the vinyl format selling 194,000 units.
It has also been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America after selling at least three million copies in the U.S.
Rolling Stone also recently gave the album the title of the greatest concept album of all time, which saw it beating out some big names in music like The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Pink Floyd’s The Wall.
The Compton native began his career as a teenager under the stage name K.Dot. His debut mixtape, Y.H.N.I.C. (Hub City Threat Minor of the Year), in 2004 raised eyebrows in the community and enabled him to gain popularity.
This would help him secure his first record deal with the independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005. In 2009, Lamar he joined Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and Schoolboy Q to form the power rap group called Black Hippy.
Following the formation of that group, he began to use his first and middle names professionally.
In 2012, Lamar secured a record deal with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment under the aegis of Interscope Records.
Kendrick Lamar’s dominance has continued since then. The “The Heart Part 5” artist has sold over 70 million records in the United States alone, and all of his studio albums have been certified platinum or higher.
