Mar 13, 2016
The accolades keep rolling in for Kendrick Lamar, whose stealth release album untitled unmastered. debuted at #1 today in the Billboard 200. The album, a raw collection of records which didn't make his groundbreaking To Pimp A Butterfly, is nonetheless masterfully executed: from it's surprise drop to the minimalist artwork and non-names, to the unpolished brilliance of the records.
Untitled moved 178,000 units in it's first week, 142,000 of which were designated as pure album sales. The Compton rapper beat out Adele, Rihanna, and Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz collaborative project ColleGrove for top billing, the latter of which came in at number 4 in it's first week.
Kendrick's growing power in hip-hop and the music industry really can't be overstated, as he has managed to balance commercial success and conceptually ambitious and powerful material in a time where most albums just don't sell.
For comparison, his 2015 masterwork To Pimp A Butterfly sold just over 363,000 units in it's opening week. Is it time we crowned Lamar king Kendrick? It's certainly hard to argue with two number ones in a twelve month period.
Congrats to Kendrick Lamar and Top Dawg Entertainment!
Photo: Consequence Of Sound