Where do you rank Kendrick’s current run?
- Thread starter Kooze4524
- Start date
He’s definitely up there. I HATE Eminem with every fiber of my being but white America made goddamn SURE his 2002 run would have to always been mentioned. As popular as Kendrick is now, unfortunately, I don’t think his run is surpassing Em’s just off raw numbers and hype.
I’d say Kendrick’s 2025 surpasses Drake’s 2016 easily. X put out TWO number 1 platinum selling albums in 98, the first rapper to do so. That’s not easily surpassable. 50 in 03 was a supernova but didn’t get the acclaim or awards plus he had to share that year with Outkast, who were arguably the biggest music artists on the planet that year. So you can put Kendrick above 50 because Kendrick’s not sharing 2025 with another rapper.
We also have to give mention to Kanye West’s 2007, which is probably the best 1:1 comparison we have to Kendrick’s run. Kanye had the sales “battle” with 50, defeated him, became the acknowledged number 1 rapper in the world, and went on a sold out tour and was multi-awarded at the Grammys, etc.
Lil Wayne sold 1 Million PURE PHYSICAL copies of Carter 3 in 2008. I think Wayne is overrated and that album is garbage but he was hot as muthafukking fish grease that year, can’t take that away from him.
So i’d put Kendrick above Drake and 50, but below X 98 and Wayne 08. Equal to Kanye’s 07 and just put Eminem in a class by himself with 1990 Vanilla Ice and 2000 Nsync
I’d say Kendrick’s 2025 surpasses Drake’s 2016 easily. X put out TWO number 1 platinum selling albums in 98, the first rapper to do so. That’s not easily surpassable. 50 in 03 was a supernova but didn’t get the acclaim or awards plus he had to share that year with Outkast, who were arguably the biggest music artists on the planet that year. So you can put Kendrick above 50 because Kendrick’s not sharing 2025 with another rapper.
We also have to give mention to Kanye West’s 2007, which is probably the best 1:1 comparison we have to Kendrick’s run. Kanye had the sales “battle” with 50, defeated him, became the acknowledged number 1 rapper in the world, and went on a sold out tour and was multi-awarded at the Grammys, etc.
Lil Wayne sold 1 Million PURE PHYSICAL copies of Carter 3 in 2008. I think Wayne is overrated and that album is garbage but he was hot as muthafukking fish grease that year, can’t take that away from him.
So i’d put Kendrick above Drake and 50, but below X 98 and Wayne 08. Equal to Kanye’s 07 and just put Eminem in a class by himself with 1990 Vanilla Ice and 2000 Nsync
brianwuzhere
Pro
Wouldn’t compare Kendrick to any of those and instead, his career trajectory is where Kanye was at when he dropped MBDTF. Counting from GKMC, initial 3peat followed by a polarizing curveball and then, a return to form. Can’t match or recreate the Good Fridays rollout in this era, but this feels like a more accurate comparison.
Toe Jay Simpson
Searchin’
Those runs were about tapping into the pulse of pop culture itself. 93 Snoop and 96 Pac belong there too
Yeah this run belongs there. None of them really compare, you just add him to the list
Yeah this run belongs there. None of them really compare, you just add him to the list
Metal Face
Superstar
biggest of all time
bigger than peak michael jackson
bigger than peak michael jackson
Great post. Thank you bro!
No.
He’s only behind Wayne IMO.
Wayne run was super crazy. Mixtapes. Radio. Billboard. Cacs. Streets. He was a phenomenon.
I remember mixtape leaks were in the top 10 countdown on the radios lol
The bars and clubs were playing mixtape tracks as if they were album cuts.
Wayne run was super crazy. Mixtapes. Radio. Billboard. Cacs. Streets. He was a phenomenon.
I remember mixtape leaks were in the top 10 countdown on the radios lol
The bars and clubs were playing mixtape tracks as if they were album cuts.
Knucklehead
HMFIC
Why do you hate Eminem this much?
Ellen Degeneres
All Star
50 had a completely unique lane and sound to the point he could just spin off a whole classic album from it (The Documentary) that rivals his own best work. Can Kendrick carry 4-5 careers like that in this era? Wayne had a feature run. At a certain point he was literally on every hit song, with the whole music industry on his shoulders. To me Kendrick's run is looking more like Eminem in early 00s (which was also one of the biggest ever). He will also probably always have a fanbase around just like Eminem.
Bryan Danielson
Jmare007 x Bryan Danielson x JLova = King Ghidorah
He having a top 47 run
tehparadox
All Star
Probably only topped by Eminem.
I've noticed A LOT of kids and teenagers have turned into massive kendrick fans, like I haven't seen this many reactions from kids all over the world for another album in years...Recording your kid dancing to GNX has pretty much become a trend a this point. This is on some 2002/2003 Eminem/50 cent stuff.
It's crazy to think that 15+ years into his career, Kendrick has entered a new commercial peak and reached a brand new audience of young people that probably gonna follow him for years to come.
I've noticed A LOT of kids and teenagers have turned into massive kendrick fans, like I haven't seen this many reactions from kids all over the world for another album in years...Recording your kid dancing to GNX has pretty much become a trend a this point. This is on some 2002/2003 Eminem/50 cent stuff.
It's crazy to think that 15+ years into his career, Kendrick has entered a new commercial peak and reached a brand new audience of young people that probably gonna follow him for years to come.
krulesweatshirt
Pro
This is a never seen before run in hip hop, but if I had to make a comparison, I'd say Eminem... he was indeed able to build a strong audience that almost never left him.
All those records Kendrick is breaking, he's doing it with brand new fans that will stay loyal to him.
All those records Kendrick is breaking, he's doing it with brand new fans that will stay loyal to him.