Black Panther: The Album, the Marvel movie soundtrack curated by Kendrick Lamar and Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, reports Billboard. The album has topped the charts with 154,000 equivalent album units in its first week. 52,000 of the figure is made up of traditional sales.
On top of co-curating the album, Kendrick has many appearances as a performer across the project, both credited and uncredited. He is listed as a songwriter on all 14 songs. TDE artists SZA, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and ScHoolboy Q make appearances, as well as rising west coast forces Mozzy and SOB x RBE. The Weeknd, Jorja Smith, Future, Swae Lee, Khalid, and Travis Scott are also featured on the project.
Last week, Kendrick thanked his many collaborators who took part in the soundtrack. "Respect to all the artist/producers that allowed me to execute a sound for the soundtrack, he said. "The concept of producing and composing a project other than my own has always been ideal. I appreciate the experience love ones. Continue to be great."
Kendrick has also praised the movie itself. “Marvel Studios’ Black Panther is amazing, from its cast to its director,” said in a press release. “The magnitude of this film showcases a great marriage of art and culture. I’m truly honored to contribute my knowledge of producing sound and writing music alongside Ryan and Marvel’s vision.”
In 2017, Kendrick earned the biggest sales week of the year with his album DAMN., which moved 603,000 equivalent album units at its launch on the Billboard 2000.