Kendrick’s 1st Week Numbers for No. 1 Album ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’
Written by SOURCE on May 22, 2022
Kendrick Lamar has the No. 1 album in the country.
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, K-Dot’s fifth solo studio offering, topped the Billboard 200 chart this week after earning an impressive 295,500 equivalent album units in its first week of availability, per the publication. The numbers break down by 258,500 SEA units (which equals about 343.02 million on-demand streams), 35,500 pure album sales, and 1,500 TEA units, which come solely from digital album sales.
This marks Lamar’s fourth consecutive No. 1 album and the biggest release week of 2022 so far; Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti held the title for one week with 274,000 units earned.
Lamar’s Damn saw him secure 603,000 units in 2017, while 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly did 324,000 units in its first week, and Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City moved 242,000 units for its debut in 2012.
The rollout for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers kicked off with a music video for “The Heart Part 5”—which was not included on the album—and the “N95” visual starring Dot and Baby Keem arriving after the project dropped. The album itself touches on a lot for Dot’s final TDE effort, and his first under his pgLang company. In it, Lamar raps about themes of cancel culture, spirituality, fatherhood, mental health, and family life—including how he’s handled homophobia and past trauma.
It includes production from collaborators like Boi-1da, The Alchemist, Dahi, Sounwave, Beach Noise, Pharrell, and more, with features courtesy of Keem, Summer Walker, Beth Gibbons of Portishead, Kodak Black, and more.
“As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years,” Lamar previously wrote last year of the album. “The Struggles. The Success. And most importantly, the Brotherhood. May the Most High continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators. As I continue to pursue my life’s calling.”
