Kendrick Lamar is winning 2024. The rapper has been crowned the victor in the highly-publicized battle between him and Drake (rightfully so). He scored his second solo number one with "Not Like Us," and he also secured number three and six hits with his other Drizzy disses. It gets better. Lamar's iconic victory has inspired fans to dig back into his catalog and stream his albums at a rate they haven't been streamed in years. The proof is in the numbers. The rapper's seminal 2012 debut, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, is selling like a new album.
DJ Akademiks, the man who championed Drake throughout the battle, ceded Lamar's dominance. He pointed out the rapper's debut was on pace to sell 26K copies the week of May 12. To put this staggering number into perspective, the album's first week of sales (with a hit single) was 242K. This means Lamar has amassed over 10% of his original first week sales without doing any sort of promo or repackaging. It all stems from the quality of the music. The 26K in sales will be enough to push Good Kid, M.A.A.D City into the top 20 of the Billboard 200. Another staggering achivement for an album that's over a decade old.
Kendrick Lamar's Debut Is Back On The Charts
The irony of Good Kid, M.A.A.D City doing so well in 2024 is that Drake is featured on one of the album's biggest songs. "Poetic Justice," the album's fourth single, peaked at 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at number eight on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, eventually going 2x Platinum. The rest of Lamar's catalog has also seen a sharp spike in popularity. Billboard reported that streaming for Lamar's music went up a staggering 49% from May 3-6. By comparison, Drake's numbers were down 5%.
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City has also maintained its critical standing. Many cite it as the greatest hip-hop debut of all time, and one of the genre's greatest albums, period. It's frequently been compared to the likes of Illmatic and Ready to Die. It currently has a Metacritic score of 91, which is his second-highest behind To Pimp a Butterfly. Drake's highest Metacritic score, by comparison, is Nothing Was the Same with a 79. K. Dot fans stay winning.