Kendrick Lamar's Masterpiece Hits A New High As It Turns 10

Forbes

a day ago

Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly reenters multiple U.K. charts, hitting a new peak of No. 11 on ... More the Official Physical Albums list 10 years after its release. LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 27: (EDITORS NOTE: Image was shot in black and white. Color version not available.) Hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during the Ice Cube, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock concert at Staples Center on June 27, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/BET/Getty Images for BET)
Kendrick Lamar broke out in a major way with his 2012 album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, but it was his follow-up, To Pimp a Butterfly, that certified him as a master of his craft. After dropping that third full-length, nobody could argue with his abilities as a writer or a performer, and he's only grown as an artist and expanded his legacy since.
To Pimp a Butterfly recently celebrated a milestone anniversary and this week becomes a bestseller once again in the United Kingdom.
To Pimp a Butterfly appears on four album charts in the U.K. at the moment. It returns to three of them after not selling well enough to land on any non-genre-specific tallies just a few days ago.
Perhaps most impressively, Lamar's third project almost breaks into the top 10 on the Official Physical Albums chart for the first time. It reenters that list at No. 11, which now stands as its all-time high on the ranking of bestselling full-lengths and EPs on all physical formats in the country.
The same project also blasts back onto both the Official Vinyl Albums and Official Albums Sales charts. To Pimp a Butterfly lands at No. 7 on the vinyl tally and No. 13 on the broader albums sales ranking, which tracks the bestselling collections across all formats and genres.
Before this week, To Pimp a Butterfly had peaked at No. 18 on the Physical Albums chart. It debuted in that spot back in March 2015 and earned two consecutive stays in that slot before beginning its descent. Over the past decade, the project has returned to the ranking multiple times and has now spent a total of 46 weeks on the 100-position list.
Lamar has pushed six titles onto the Official Physical Albums chart throughout his career, and as To Pimp a Butterfly reaches a new high of No. 11, it passes DAMN. as his third-highest-rising release on the tally. DAMN. peaked at No. 13, while Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers narrowly missed the top spot, coming in at No. 2. His most recent project GNX reached as high as No. 3 earlier this year.
To Pimp a Butterfly also climbs back to No. 1 on the Official Hip-Hop and R&B Albums chart, a space it's occupied repeatedly for nearly a decade. The set jumps from No. 30 to No. 1, even though it never really left, as it's been charting there for nearly 500 weeks.
To Pimp a Butterfly was originally released in March 2015, so only a few months ago it officially turned 10 years old. Lamar dropped a tenth anniversary vinyl edition of the set, which is responsible for its return to multiple rankings and its newfound high point on the Official Physical Albums roster.