Music is Perspective: Why Kendrick Lamars ‘GNX’ was a Flop

The word ‘Flop’ is a relative term describing an album or single not living up to its commercial expectations. GNX for all intents and purposes was indeed a commercial success. Moving 319,000 units in its first week is nothing to scoff at. Many artists would kill to have these kinds of numbers, especially rappers. In comparison, Future who released his project ‘Mixtape Pluto’ in September of 2024 moved 129,000 units in its first week, and GloRilla who released her debut album ‘GLORIOUS’ in October moved 69,000 its first week. Considering these first week statistics and the fact that the latter two projects both debuted top 5 on the billboard charts (1 and 5 respectively) it’s easy to see how impressive Kendrick’s album sales SEEM to be. Unfortunately for Kendrick Lamar, his expectations are a little bit different. Lats dive into it.

Heavy is the Crown

The year of 2024 saw Kendrick Lamar get appointed by fans and media as the undisputed king of hip-hop after defeating Drake in one of the best battles in History. Drake who is still a titan in the music industry took a big hit to his public image after the release of the mega hit ‘Not Like Us.’ Though still the most streamed rapper across every streaming platform, the track and the battle boosted Kendrick’s popularity and stock at a convenient time for the lyricist. Prior to the beef Kendrick was relatively quiet. The success of his 2017 studio album ‘Damn’ propelled him to the status of mega star, moving an impressive 603,000 units in its first week. The commercial success of the project along with the critical acclaim put him right where he’s always wanted to be. At the Top. The caveat to seeing that kind of success is that expectations rise. 

A mis-step by the Big Stepper

After a 5 year hiatus Kendrick Lamar finally released his 5th studio album in 2022 (not including the Black Panther: The Album in 2018). This highly anticipated project ‘Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers’ moved only 295,000 its first week. Not even half what ‘Damn’ was able to do. Though still a number 1 on the billboard upon its release the stark drop in sales was startling even for those who aren’t avid Kendrick supporters. Some will point to limited promotion the project received as to why it failed to reach its projection of 350-400,000 thousand units. Some will point to the large gap between releases, regardless it was not a good look for the reigning King of Hip-hop. To compare after Drake released ‘Views’ in 2016 to a jaw dropping 1.04 Million first week, he followed up with another 704,000 first week in 2018 with ‘Scorpion’ and 613,000 with ‘Certified Lover Boy’ in 2021. This is skipping the 2017 playlist ‘More Life’ which did 505,000 first week and various other non-album projects in between those time periods. 

Can Kendrick Lamar Live up to the Hype

After defeating one of the biggest artists in the world and releasing the earth shattering ‘Not Like Us’ , and securing his second Super Bowl appearance, media outlets anticipated that GNX would see Kendrick return to commercial dominance. However the project failed to reach 350,000 in its first week. A surprise twist to what’s supposed to be Kendrick’s crowning year. However with an anticipated deluxe dropping soon and a tour with SZA maybe the King can still secure his throne, not just in the eyes of twitter but with commercial dominance as well.