Kendrick Lamar’s electrifying Super Bowl LIX halftime show continues to be the gift that keeps on giving. As revealed by Billboard on Monday (Feb. 17), the aftershocks of his Feb. 9 performance sent his catalog soaring to new heights on the Billboard 200. Not only did GNX reclaim the No. 1 spot, 2017’s DAMN. and 2012’s good kid, m.A.A.d city surged to the chart’s ninth and 10th spots, respectively.
In the nearly 69-year history of the Billboard 200, no rapper has ever landed three albums in the top 10 simultaneously. Additionally, the feat made the Compton emcee the first living male artist to do so since Herb Alpert in 1966. As far as more modern statistics are concerned, the last artist of any genre to achieve something similar was Taylor Swift, who managed five albums in the top tier in December 2023. Before her, Prince accomplished the feat posthumously in 2016. Unlike Prince or Swift, who benefited from massive reissues and catalog expansions, Lamar’s surge came largely from pure demand.
When the halftime show meets the charts
We’ve seen Super Bowl performers reap streaming boosts before. In one example, Justin Timberlake’s Man of the Woods LP hit No. 1 after the pop star’s halftime performance in 2018. The resurgence of GNX could also be credited to its arrival on physical formats; until Feb. 7, the album was only available through streaming and digital downloads.
As the publication further reported, other albums within Lamar’s catalog are also seeing impressive Billboard 200 increases since the Super Bowl. To Pimp a Butterfly, his 2015 magnum opus, vaulted from No. 167 to No. 54, while 2022’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers jumped from No. 185 to No. 75. The Black Panther soundtrack, which Lamar curated, reentered at No. 42, likely buoyed by his and SZA’s halftime show performance of “All the Stars.” It should also be noted that SZA’s sophomore smash, 2022’s SOS, now sits at No. 2, marking the first time two Super Bowl performers held the top two spots in the week following the game.
Lamar’s high-flying streaming figures
If all of this wasn’t enough, Lamar is breaking records in the streaming world. According to HotNewHipHop, the pgLang captain recently became the first Hip Hop artist to surpass 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify. On Sunday (Feb. 16), Chart Data revealed that he is now the first rapper to generate over a billion streams in the U.S. as a lead artist. Taken together, these accomplishments paint a clear picture: Lamar isn’t just thriving in the streaming era — he’s redefining it, all without flooding the market with projects or chasing viral gimmicks.