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\n\tIf you thought that we were finished with major releases for the 2024 calendar as we approached Thanksgiving and the beginning of year-end season, Kendrick Lamar<\/a> let you know real quick that the year ain\u2019t done yet. <\/p>\n \n\tTwo Friday afternoons ago (Nov. 22), Lamar snuck up on an unsuspecting public with the sneak-release of his previously announced new album GNX<\/em>. The 12-track set builds on the momentum he established earlier this year with his Drake feud \u2014 which produced a pair of Billboard Hot 100<\/a> No. 1s in the Future and Metro Boomin collab \u201cLike That\u201d and his own \u201cNot Like Us\u201d \u2014 and produces a third Hot 100 No. 1 with \u201cSquabble Up,\u201d tops among the seven new songs the rapper launches into the top 10 this week, while also topping the Billboard 200<\/a> with 319,000 units moved. <\/p>\n \n\tWhich is the most impressive of his current chart achievements? And how do we rate Kendrick Lamar\u2019s 2024 at this point? Billboard<\/em> staffers discuss these questions and more below. <\/p>\n \n\t1. Kendrick Lamar\u2019s\u00a0GNX<\/em>\u00a0debuts atop the Billboard 200 with 319,000 first-week units \u2014 the biggest debut week for a rap album in 2024, despite no physical release and just 12 tracks\u2019 worth of streaming totals \u2014 while also capturing seven of the top 10 spots on the Hot 100, including the entire top five. Which of the two achievements is more impressive to you?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tKyle Denis<\/strong>: I think the Hot 100 feat is a bit more impressive. The first-week units total for GNX <\/em>is commendable, but the figure is squarely in Kendrick\u2019s usual ballpark. Occupying the Hot 100\u2019s entire top five \u2013 in the face of the fast-rising holiday songs and some of the most stable smashes of the year \u2013 is the kind of feat that moves Kendrick into a different column. Tons of acts have had albums debut with over 300,000 units, but only three other acts \u2013 The Beatles, Taylor Swift and Drake \u2013 have simultaneously held the top five spots on the Hot 100. That\u2019s the kind of stat that helps get you to GOAT status.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAngel Diaz<\/strong>: I think both are equally impressive. Selling that many units off pure streams and debuting No. 1 with no lead up or warning other than the GNX<\/em> trailer he posted minutes before the album hit, is crazy when you look back on that fateful Friday afternoon here on the East Coast. But it\u2019s also very cool to see \u201cunderground\u201d West Coast\u00a0rappers like Lefty Gunplay and Dody6 getting their first Hot 100 looks thanks to Kendrick. That\u2019s unheard of in today\u2019s landscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tJason Lipshutz<\/strong>: The latter, not just because it\u2019s a chart achievement that only Taylor Swift, Drake and The Beatles have done before, but because flooding the top five of the Hot 100 demonstrates how much bigger GNX<\/em> is than Kendrick Lamar\u2019s other recent output. After all, 2022\u2019s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers<\/em> debuted with two songs in the top five of the Hot 100 and three total in the top 10 \u2014 impressive for any artist, but literally half as impressive as what Lamar just accomplished with GNX<\/em>. A new Kendrick Lamar album was always going to be in contention for the biggest rap debut of the year, but we\u2019ve never seen this level of consumption of his songs on the Hot 100, and that chart feat showcases the album\u2019s true enormity.<\/p>\n \n\tMichael Saponara<\/strong>: MUSTARDDDD. I\u2019d have to go with occupying the entire top five of this week\u2019s Hot 100 as, ironically enough, Drake was the only rapper to ever do that before him. Kendrick\u2019s had a commercial resurgence that just wasn\u2019t as potent earlier in the decade and there\u2019s something to be said that the Compton rapper has notched more No. 1 hits in 2024 than in the rest of his decorated career combined. He\u2019s also the first rhymer to have three No. 1 debuts on the Hot 100 in the same calendar year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAndrew Unterberger<\/strong>: Hot 100 for sure. He\u2019s had Billboard 200-dominating albums before but he\u2019s never blanketed the Hot 100 like this \u2014 to the point where he might even end up in the mix to have multiple No. 1s from the album before all is said and done. It\u2019s crazy to see him so central to popular music right now, but obviously well-deserved. <\/p>\n \n\t2.\u00a0GNX<\/em>\u00a0fell out of the sky on Friday at noon ET, with no advance warning. Do you think that promotional strategy ultimately helped, hurt or had no major effect on the album\u2019s first-week performance?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tKyle Denis<\/strong>: I honestly think it may have hurt the album\u2019s first-week performance. With his run of diss tracks this spring and summer and a general elevation of his celebrity, Kendrick had millions of consumers ready to eat up whatever project he put out. I think giving people some notice, even if it was just 24 hours, would have resulted in slightly better numbers than a full-on surprise drop. A bit of notice would have allowed fans to mobilize and create their own listening experiences and made for a seamless DSP uploading process \u2014 GNX<\/em> reportedly took over an hour to appear on streaming platforms for some users. These are small things, but they\u2019re the kinds of moves that could have at least helped the album get closer to the 350,000 range. Not to mention, a pre-announced release date would have also given Team Kendrick time to get physical copies of the album available upon release \u2013 but that would also depend on when K.Dot finished the album.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAngel Diaz<\/strong>: First of all, I\u2019m sick of these surprise releases, man. I am begging for artists to chill out because they are making us lose our minds on a Friday and into the weekend. With that being said, as a fan, I love it and everyone I knew that\u2019s not in this business were playing that album. You heard it at the barbershop over the weekend and out of car speakers, so yeah I definitely think that strategy had a major effect, especially for the casual fan seeing the chatter on social media and hitting play out of pure curiosity. The album being so good and having so much replay value also helped.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tJason Lipshutz<\/strong>: The surprise release has become a tactic generally reserved for superstars\u2026 and since Kendrick Lamar is one of our biggest, the out-of-nowhere drop absolutely helped him here. The shock of GNX<\/em> \u2014 no leaks, no heads-up, just a brand new Kendrick album to stream on your Friday lunch break \u2014 defined the pop culture discourse of that day, and immediate reactions began to bubble up on social media to keep streams high through the weekend. Not every A-lister could pull off that type of unveiling, but Lamar did here, and scored one of the biggest debuts of his career in the process.<\/p>\n \n\tMichael Saponara<\/strong>: I don\u2019t think there was much of a major impact with the surprise release. To be honest, I kind of expected something along those lines from the elusive K. Dot rather than a traditional rollout. He only lost 12 hours so that resulted in a minimal lagtime in spreading the word that rap\u2019s boogeyman had returned. Between the Drake feud and the anticipation from fans for a new project, there really was no wrong way for Lamar to deliver his next album.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAndrew Unterberger<\/strong>: I don\u2019t think it really matters for its commercial performance \u2014 he could have released this album any which way and it still would\u2019ve probably done about this well. But for maintaining the overall excitement level of his 2024, this was probably the best way to go. <\/p>\n \n\t3. \u201cSquabble Up\u201d debuts atop the Hot 100 this week as the top-performing song from the new album, but it has already been passed on the daily streaming charts of both iTunes and Spotify by both \u201cTV Off\u201d and \u201cLuther.\u201d Which of the three songs do you think will ultimately be the biggest hit from the set?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tKyle Denis<\/strong>: Of the three songs, I think \u201cTV Off\u201d will have the biggest peak, but I also anticipate \u201cLuther\u201d following a similar trajectory to that of \u201cLove,\u201d Dot\u2019s 2017 duet with Zacari. \u201cLuther\u201d might not ever reach the top of the Hot 100, but I expect it to have impressive longevity and stay on the charts longer than any other GNX <\/em>track.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAngel Diaz<\/strong>: I love \u201cLuther\u201d, but I really hope the West Coast street anthems like \u201cSquabble Up\u201d and \u201cTV Off\u201d stand the test of time and continue to perform in the future. So, to answer the question, I\u2019ll put money on \u201cSquabble Up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tJason Lipshutz<\/strong>: \u201cTV Off\u201d and \u201cSquabble Up\u201d are the album\u2019s two turn-the-volume-way-up anthems, and while \u201cSquabble Up\u201d likely benefited from being placed second on the track list and gaining listeners\u2019 immediate attentions, \u201cTV Off\u201d is the more enduring battle cry, thanks to the stronger K. Dot flow, positively nasty beat switch and the instantly meme-able \u201cMUSTAAAAAAARD\u201d moment. Who knows? Maybe once the holiday music onslaught subsides, Kendrick can kick off 2025 with another Hot 100 chart-topper.<\/p>\n \n\tMichael Saponara<\/strong>: I\u2019m gonna go with \u201cTV Off\u201d as the winner here. It\u2019s topped the Apple Music charts and spurred a ton of chatter on social media with endless meme-ability thanks to Kendrick\u2019s pair of \u201cMUSTARDDD\u201d shout-outs to the track\u2019s producer. Lefty Gunplay\u2019s ominous chorus has also been going viral. We\u2019ll see what kind of staying power the trio has at the top of the Hot 100, especially with rumors of a deluxe falling out of the sky from K. Dot.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAndrew Unterberger<\/strong>: Yeah prepare for a lot of out-of-nowhere \u201cMUSTAAAAAAAAARD\u201d<\/em> howls in casual conversation this holiday season. <\/p>\n \n\t4. Between his three No. 1 singles and now a No. 1 album as well, this is undoubtedly Kendrick Lamar\u2019s biggest year on the\u00a0Billboard<\/em>\u00a0charts. Do you think he ever would have had a year like this if not for the Drake feud that initially ignited it, or do you think he was due for such a legacy year at some point in his career regardless?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tKyle Denis<\/strong>: I think he was definitely due for a year like this \u2013 and the DAMN.<\/em>\/Black Panther<\/em> period would have sufficed if this year had never happened \u2013 but I\u2019m not sure he gets it in 2024 specifically without the Drake feud.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAngel Diaz<\/strong>: I think he was due for a legacy year, but this is the way you do it in rap. This is the same thing Jay-Z did when he dissed Nas on \u201cTakeover\u201d the summer before he released his seminal album The Blueprint<\/em> in 2001. However, Nas was nowhere near the level Drake was commercially, and Jay dissing him ironically resurrected his career while also placing Jigga on the throne. Rap really hasn\u2019t had a power struggle for the crown since then. Did it benefit him? Sure. But he took the throne fair and square.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tJason Lipshutz<\/strong>: This type of year was always lurking within Kendrick Lamar, a singular superstar with a nearly unanimous approval rating, but 2022\u2019s Mr. Morale<\/em> suggested that he was turning away from commercial prospects in favor of idiosyncrasies and self-examination. Maybe a course-correction was coming, but the Drake feud \u2014 and before that, the talk of a \u201cBig Three,\u201d placing Kendrick on the same field as his peers when he believed he was playing a different sport \u2014 helped focus his superpowers, and provoke a year-long assault against his naysayers, October\u2019s Very Own included. GNX<\/em> is not about Drake, per se, but the album punctuates the assertion that Kendrick has spent 2024 making: there is no competition.<\/p>\n \n\tMichael Saponara<\/strong>: To this level, I can\u2019t say I saw that coming. He hasn\u2019t been that same kind of commercial titan since DAMN.<\/em> and that\u2019s over seven years ago at this point. There\u2019s an argument Lamar was due for a \u201clegacy year,\u201d but I think the Drake feud added kerosene to the fire and gave him the lane to become rap\u2019s undoubted MVP for 2024. It\u2019s the biggest rap battle in decades between two of the greatest to do it, so of course it\u2019s going to have a profound impact on the winner. But again, I\u2019ll say I was wrong in that if there was a hit record to come out of the battle, I thought that was going to be Drake.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAndrew Unterberger<\/strong>: He might\u2019ve been due for more of a commercial on<\/em> cycle \u2014 since Kendrick has long sort of been on a one-for-them, one-for-me career path \u2014 but you have to imagine that he needed the Drake thing to take him to this<\/em>. We\u2019ve just never seen Kendrick Lamar get his blood up like this for an entire year before. It must have been something that was stewing in him for some time. <\/p>\n \n\t5. Is this the best year a rapper has had this decade?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tKyle Denis<\/strong>: I\u2019m going to say yes. Shoutout to Megan Thee Stallion\u2019s 2020 and Doja Cat\u2019s 2021, though!\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAngel Diaz<\/strong>: I think that\u2019s fair to say, but going back a little further, we must remember Future\u2019s 2015 run when he dropped Beast Mode<\/em>, 56 Nights<\/em>, DS2<\/em> and What a Time to Be Alive<\/em>. Big Fewtch also had himself an impressive 2024 \u2014 with three Billboard 200 No. 1 albums \u2014 that was a bit overshadowed by Drake and Dot\u2019s main event. \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tJason Lipshutz<\/strong>: Yes, because Kendrick Lamar\u2019s 2024 combines great music with a great narrative \u2014 enormous singles, blockbuster collaborations and a no-skips album coalescing around a battle that\u2019s heated, personal and entertaining as hell. His year has transcended stats and honorifics, and become a cultural phenomenon. It\u2019s one that hip-hop fans are never going to forget.<\/p>\n \n\tMichael Saponara<\/strong>: Yeah, I can\u2019t see there being much debate about that. Not only the decade, but let\u2019s open that up to the century. Then you\u2019re talking Drake\u2019s \u201818, Ye\u2019s 2010-11, Wayne\u2019s \u201807-\u201908 and 50 Cent\u2019s 2003 off the top of my head, and Kendrick belongs in that discussion. Three No. 1 hits, one of which flipped the script against rap\u2019s pop deity to defeat him in battle, and an acclaimed album that popped up as a late contender for album of the year honors. Oh, and it\u2019s possible he\u2019s sweeping at the Grammy Awards a month into 2025 before heading out on a stadium tour. This was one for the history books, Dot.\u00a0<\/p>\n