Kendrick Lamar's new album has been out for less than a week, and I don't think it's a stretch to say the album is very, very good. More than that, Damn will very likely become Kendrick's biggest album when it comes to commercial success.
According to Billboard, Damn is on pace to move 475,000 equivalent album units in its first week. Doing close to half a mil in one week is nothing to sneeze at, and puts Kendrick in good company; only Drake's More Life has moved more units in its first week this year when it bowed at 505,000 last month.
K-Dot's projected tally for Damn also far outpaces his previous efforts. 2015's To Pimp a Butterfly moved 363,000 units, while 2012'sgood kid, m.A.A.d city earned 241,000. His 2016 project Untitled Unmastered snagged 178,000.
Should Kendrick decide to hit the road for a tour this summer, the wave of sales and streaming numbers will continue to roll in at a consistent rate and should help him pass the million mark earlier than previous releases. It took good kid, m.A.A.d city nearly 10 months to reach that accomplishment, and To Pimp a Butterfly about the same length of time. If he's doing close to 500,000 first week, don't be surprised if he hits a milli within the next couple months.
Success for Damn is also assured on the singles front. It only took one week for "Humble" to become Kendrick's highest charting song as a lead artist when it debuted at No. 2. The song slipped one spot in its second week, which is a positive outcome in an era where songs fly up the chart and disappear just as quickly. We'll need a little more time to get a better picture of just how big "Humble" will be for K-Dot's career, but right now, it appears to have staying power.
On top of that, Damn offers a handful of songs that could potentially match or eclipse "Humble." If "Loyalty" was a play for commercial appeal, so be it; Kendrick and crew knocked it out of the park. His chemistry with Rihanna on it is flawless, and the song should easily spread across the airwaves when it gets put in rotation.
"Love" also sounds like a solid radio play that could push his brand beyond his normal audience. And that's the beauty of this new album; Kendrick expanded his sound without sacrificing quality.
Is Damn Kendrick's best album? We'll give that some more time for a final verdict. But it's definitely going to the best-selling album of his career.
