krishna bound

2y

GNX doing 324k is actually pretty crazy when you consider MMBS did 295k with 50% more songs. while i know streaming rules and stuff changed, MMBS only did 50k more than GKMC. GNX and TPAB basically have the same first week sales. not hate but objectively speaking MMBS really did underperform especially given how insanely well DAMN did (603k - which is nuts)

Freight

2y

MMBS definitely underperformed from what an artist in the A-tier of commercial success is expected to do. GNX on the other hand performed really well for an artist in that tier. The issue is that a lot of people thought Kendrick ascended to S-tier when it comes to sales.

thegreatdivine

2y

Kendrick fans: spent the entire summer screaming from the mountain top that Kendrick is now the #1, biggest rapper in the entire Universe.

Also Kendrick fans: crying that people now have lofty commercial expectations for the rapper who is now the #1, biggest rapper in the entire Universe.

Y'all wanted Kendrick to get all the praise and accolades without the expectations that comes with all of that. Y'all ain't slick

Freight

2y

MMBS definitely underperformed from what an artist in the A-tier of commercial success is expected to do. GNX on the other hand performed really well for an artist in that tier. The issue is that a lot of people thought Kendrick ascended to S-tier when it comes to sales.

thegreatdivine

2y

Kendrick fans: spent the entire summer screaming from the mountain top that Kendrick is now the #1, biggest rapper in the entire Universe.

Also Kendrick fans: crying that people now have lofty commercial expectations for the rapper who is now the #1, biggest rapper in the entire Universe.

Y'all wanted Kendrick to get all the praise and accolades without the expectations that comes with all of that. Y'all ain't slick

krishna bound

2y

the promo for DAMN and the number of bundles they had up for it (alongside old streaming rules) really helped the album's sales and reception. If you measure hype by sales, then him reverting back to TPAB levels despite the entire context of the year says a lot about internet hype cycles vs consumer attitudes

TheFader

2y

This is missing a little context though. GNX would’ve absolutely blew TPAB’s first week number out of the water if there were physicals attached to it like DAMN. had.

You’re probably looking at a 450-500K debut for GNX if physicals and bundles were involved

krishna bound

2y

TPAB didn't have bundles either though, so it's probably fair to say both undersold vs their maximum potential (which you're probably right would have been another 60-90k unless they went full on weeknd after hours or taylor swift bundles). GNX being a surprise release also probably hurt it vs a traditional rollout, but Kendrick's hype at the moment does feel bigger than DAMN which is why it feels odd to me.

SWAN

2y

Can someone share a link to a thread where majority of Kendrick stans are claiming he’s the biggest rapper in the world?

Freight

2y

Which one?

krishna bound

2y

TPAB didn't have bundles either though, so it's probably fair to say both undersold vs their maximum potential (which you're probably right would have been another 60-90k unless they went full on weeknd after hours or taylor swift bundles). GNX being a surprise release also probably hurt it vs a traditional rollout, but Kendrick's hype at the moment does feel bigger than DAMN which is why it feels odd to me.

SWAN

2y

anyone tbh

i want to see sum

krishna bound

2y

GNX doing 324k is actually pretty crazy when you consider MMBS did 295k with 50% more songs. while i know streaming rules and stuff changed, MMBS only did 50k more than GKMC. GNX and TPAB basically have the same first week sales. not hate but objectively speaking MMBS really did underperform especially given how insanely well DAMN did (603k - which is nuts)

Kr0niic

2y

Honestly never mind sold 100k less than Mr morale and it dropped a month after it btw

Kr0niic

2y

Honestly never mind sold 100k less than Mr morale and it dropped a month after it btw

TheFader

2y

Sure it didn’t have “bundles”, but it was released at a time when pure sales were still king.

GNX is released 10 years later, at a time when streaming is king but it’s still very hard to do insane numbers through streaming only.

The biggest streaming week of all time, The Tortured Poets Department, debuted with 891 million streams from 31 tracks, which only resulted in about 700K sales from streaming. Still a huge number, but you would think with that many streams it would equate to at least a million first week in equivalent sales.

The point I’m trying to make is that GNX’s sales are still very impressive, but we’re at a time where big artists are using pure sales to give them the extra boost, so Kendrick’s total would’ve been even higher with that accounted for. Back in 2015, there was no “extra boost” angle that was required for sales figures. The numbers were just the numbers

STEPPA PIG

2y

I'm not a big fan of the album but if y'all can look at the broader context for other albums, why can't y'all realise that the album just isn't accessible/commercially viable? How well do you expect an album with We Cry Together, Kodak speaking over a show tune ass beat, Mother I Sober, Auntie Diaries on it to sell compared to albums with songs like King Kunta, Alright, DNA, Humble (which was also released before the album as a single so it's sales counted for the first week iirc)

Even the "mainstream" songs on MM is s*** like N95, Father Time, Rich Spirit, Die Hard, Purple Hearts. Which are decent but aren't really hit material like his other albums had

Like yeah the sales were disappointing. But there's some pretty obvious reasons for that

TheFader

2y

Sure it didn’t have “bundles”, but it was released at a time when pure sales were still king.

GNX is released 10 years later, at a time when streaming is king but it’s still very hard to do insane numbers through streaming only.

The biggest streaming week of all time, The Tortured Poets Department, debuted with 891 million streams from 31 tracks, which only resulted in about 700K sales from streaming. Still a huge number, but you would think with that many streams it would equate to at least a million first week in equivalent sales.

The point I’m trying to make is that GNX’s sales are still very impressive, but we’re at a time where big artists are using pure sales to give them the extra boost, so Kendrick’s total would’ve been even higher with that accounted for. Back in 2015, there was no “extra boost” angle that was required for sales figures. The numbers were just the numbers