TierMarks

Rapper

Kendrick Lamar

Albums that read like novels and singles that swallowed whole summers.

Kendrick Lamar writes concept albums with the discipline of a novelist and still lands the biggest single of the year. Here are his most played songs, the ones that read best on the page, the productions that set each era, his chart peaks, and every album as this site grades it, the arguable ones included.

Most streamed

The ten Kendrick songs played most on streaming, features with SZA included.

  1. HUMBLE.DAMN., 2017
  2. Money Treesgood kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012
  3. Not Like UsSingle, 2024
  4. lutherGNX, 2024
  5. Swimming Pools (Drank)good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012
  6. LOVE.DAMN., 2017
  7. DNA.DAMN., 2017
  8. All the StarsBlack Panther, 2018
  9. Poetic Justicegood kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012
  10. tv offGNX, 2024

The pen

The songs that hold up best written down.

  • good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012Sing About Me, I'm Dying of ThirstTwelve minutes in three voices, and two of them are not his.
  • DAMN., 2017FEAR.Fear at seven, at seventeen and at twenty-seven, a verse for each.
  • DAMN., 2017DUCKWORTH.A true story about his father that closes the album's loop.
  • Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, 2022Auntie DiariesA family story told without the usual cover.
  • Section.80, 2011RigamortisSpeed and breath control over a jazz loop.
  • Single, 2017The Heart Part 4The warning shot, a few weeks before DAMN.
  • Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, 2022Father TimeA son auditing everything his father taught him, with Sampha.
  • Section.80, 2011HiiiPoWeRSection.80's closing statement: a call to arms that set out the politics of everything after it.
  • good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012m.A.A.d cityCompton at street level in two halves, split by a beat switch, with MC Eiht on the second.
  • good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012RealWhere the album's story resolves, ending on his parents' voicemails: real is responsibility.
  • good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012Black Boy FlyEnvy, admitted: he watched Arron Afflalo and The Game get out of Compton first.
  • good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012Now or NeverMary J. Blige on the hook and a verse about taking the shot before it is gone.

Production excellence

From Sounwave's first loops to Mustard's summer: the beats that set each scene.

  1. A.D.H.DSection.80, 2011Prod. SounwaveA hazy loop for a generation running on autopilot.
  2. Money Treesgood kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012Prod. DJ DahiA Beach House song played backwards, and the album's calm centre.
  3. Swimming Pools (Drank)good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012Prod. T-MinusA woozy bassline for a drinking song that argues against drinking.
  4. The Recipegood kid, m.A.A.d city (deluxe), 2012Prod. Scoop DeVilleThe first single from his major-label debut, a Los Angeles postcard with Dr. Dre riding shotgun.
  5. Wesley's TheoryTo Pimp a Butterfly, 2015Prod. Flying Lotus, Flippa, Sounwave, ThundercatFlying Lotus and Thundercat open the album in full P-Funk.
  6. DNA.DAMN., 2017Prod. Mike Will Made-ItThe beat switch that turns the second half into a brawl.
  1. Not Like UsSingle, 2024Prod. Mustard, Sounwave, Sean MombergerMustard sped the sample up and made a diss the song of the summer.
  2. BLOOD.DAMN., 2017Prod. Bēkon, Top DawgA story told over a swelling choir: he helps a blind woman, and she shoots him.
  3. LOVE.DAMN., 2017Prod. Teddy Walton, Sounwave, Greg Kurstin, Top DawgZacari's falsetto over a soft synth bed: the one straight love song on DAMN.
  4. XXX.DAMN., 2017Prod. Mike Will Made-It, DJ Dahi, Sounwave, Top Dawg, BēkonSirens, a beat switch into something harder, and U2's Bono closing it out on the wreckage.
  5. HiiiPoWeRSection.80, 2011Prod. J. ColeJ. Cole behind the boards, and a drum loop built like a rally chant.
  6. These WallsTo Pimp a Butterfly, 2015Prod. Terrace Martin, Larrance Dopson, SounwaveA slow funk bedroom song with a revenge story in its last verse, and a Grammy to show for it.

Biggest hits

His biggest songs by the highest position they reached on the Billboard Hot 100.

  1. Hot 100 peakNo.1HUMBLE.DAMN., 2017
  2. Hot 100 peakNo.1Not Like UsSingle, 2024
  3. Hot 100 peakNo.1lutherGNX, 2024
  4. Hot 100 peakNo.1squabble upGNX, 2024
  5. Hot 100 peakNo.1Like ThatWith Future and Metro Boomin, 2024
  6. Hot 100 peakNo.2tv offGNX, 2024
  7. Hot 100 peakNo.4DNA.DAMN., 2017
  8. Hot 100 peakNo.7All the StarsBlack Panther, 2018
  9. Hot 100 peakNo.11LOVE.DAMN., 2017