Between the Grammy Awards on February 2nd, where he took home five trophies for “Not Like Us” including Record of the Year and Song of the Year, and Super Bowl LIX on February 9th, where he captivated and/or confused the American public with his widely discussed Halftime Show, rapper Kendrick Lamar may be having the biggest month of any person in the entertainment world. If you need any more proof, just look at the latest Billboard charts.
On the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart dated February 22nd, four of the top five slots are occupied by songs Kendrick Lamar performed at Super Bowl LIX: “Not Like Us” jumped from No. 15 last week all the way to No. 1 spot, while the more recent tracks “Luther” (ft. SZA), “TV Off” (ft. Lefty Gunplay), and “Squabble Up” came in at No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5, respectively. Kendrick and his Super Bowl guest, SZA, even managed to draw an additional collaborative song not played at the Halftime Show into the Top 10, with SZA’s Lamar-assisted SOS Deluxe: Lana track “30 for 30” surged from No. 22 last week to No. 10 this week.
On the Billboard 200 albums chart dated February 22nd, Lamar’s 2024 LP GNX rose from No. 4 to No. 1, marking its second nonconsecutive week in the top spot following its No. 1 debut in December. That’s somewhat unsurprising given that many of the album’s songs were played during the Super Bowl Halftime Show and Lamar just released the album in physical formats for the first time, but his current cultural impact is underscored by concurrent chart motion by his back catalog: Along with GNX at No. 1, the latest Billboard 200 chart includes 2017’s DAMN. (which snuck just two songs into the Super Bowl setlist) at No. 9 and 2012’s good kid, M.A.A.D. city (which was not represented at the Super Bowl at all and first entered the chart a whopping 642 weeks ago) at No. 10. Plus, SZA’s SOS jumped from No. 3 to No. 2, right behind GNX. Per Billboard, this marks the first time in the nearly 69-year history of the chart that a rap act has placed at least three albums concurrently in the Top 10.
It seems Kendrick Lamar achieved exactly what he had hoped with his conceptually dense, consciously provocative Super Bowl Halftime Show: As he rapped in an added intro line to “Not Like Us” that night, calling back to the broken promises made to freed slaves by the government after the Civil War, “40 acres and a mule, this is bigger than the music / They tried to rig the game, but you can’t fake influence.” Head here for our full review of the Kendrick Super Bowl LIX Halftime show in which I try to explain the show’s nuances to my dad.
In other “Kendrick dominates popular culture” news, Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer on Friday reprised their SNL characters Marty and Bobbi Mohan-Culp during the SNL50 Homecoming Concert at Radio City Music Hall for a, uh, unique cover of “Not Like Us”. Watch a video of that performance below.
Will Ferrell & Ana Gasteyer as Marty and Bobbi Mohan-Culp – “Not Like Us” (Kendrick Lamar) – SNL50 Homecoming Concert – 2/14/25
Kendrick Lamar and SZA are set to ride their massive momentum into their highly anticipated Grand National Tour, set to hit major stadiums around the U.S., Europe, and the U.K. from mid-April through early August. Click below for a list of dates. Find tickets here.