2024 was one of Kendrick Lamar's biggest years yet. Luckily, it looks like 2025 is off to a similarly successful start. Last weekend, the Compton rapper headlined the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show in New Orleans, which boasted appearances from SZA, Mustard, Samuel L Jackson, and even Serena Williams. The performance has since received mixed reviews, but regardless, it contributed to record-breaking viewership of the big game.
Kendrick's performance has also paid off in the streaming department, as he smashed yet another record shortly after. He's become the rapper with the most Spotify monthly listeners of all time with a whopping 88.8 million. Earlier this week, it was even reported that his hit "Not Like Us" was headed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 again. Now, according to Hits Daily Double, his album GNX is following suit.
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Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl Halftime Show
The outlet reports that GNX is estimated to move 230k units this week, putting it at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It got another boost ahead of the Super Bowl too, as physical copies were released on February 7. This brings the project's total sales to over a staggering one million, earning Kendrick another platinum plaque. HipHopDX notes that GNX isn't the only one of his albums to soar after the Halftime Show. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City is reportedly projected to land at No. 11 on the chart and DAMN at No. 12.
Unfortunately, not everyone was a fan of Kendrick's eagerly anticipated performance. His setlist has been heavily criticized since the show, with many arguing that he should have performed more hits. According to Dave Free, however, that wasn't the point. "We wanted this performance to have a cinematic and theatrical element to it. We can confidently say that there’s no Super Bowl performance that’s quite like this one,” he told the Wall Street Journal this week. "The feel of it is Black America. What does Black America look like, and how to control that narrative of what it means to be Black in America versus what the world’s perspective of that is."
