Kendrick Lamar‘s sixth album, GNX, will debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with more than 324,000 total album-equivalent units sold in its opening week.
Per HITS Daily Double, nearly 290,000 of those are from streaming services and 33,000 from pure album sales. The massive number bests Tyler, The Creator’s Chromakopia opening number of roughly 296,000 total album-equivalent units (granted, the Odd Future founder released his album on a Monday, giving him less time to accumulate sales).
That’s not to say Tyler’s album is performing poorly. In fact, his project is still in the Top 5, selling more than 60,000 units.
The pgLang/Interscope Records artist surprise-dropped GNX on November 22, delivering 12 new tracks like “squabble up” and “wacced out murals.” Production was provided by Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Mustard and Kamasi Washington and Sean Momberger; SZA and Roddy Ricch were among the few who contributed vocals.
According to Kendrick Lamar collaborator Lefty Gunplay, the former Top Dawg Entertainment MC has a deluxe version of the project on its way. Lefty made the claim while discussing his relationship with Lamar during a recent appearance on The Bootleg Kev podcast. As he said, “I know he’s got a deluxe version coming out. So I don’t know what he’s got going on. He’s very [secretive], but when you kick it with him in person he’s cool man.”
GNX serves as the follow-up to 2022’s Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, his final album on TDE. The project received the largest first day streams of 2022 on Apple Music, garnering over 60 million streams. It also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, opening with over 295,000 album-equivalent units. It marked his fourth chart-topping effort and was the thirteenth best-selling album of the year.
The commercial success of GNX continues Kendrick’s 2024 victory lap, which includes “Not Like Us” dominating the summer and several Grammy Award nominations. He also landed the coveted 2025 Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show spot on February 9.