Today, Monday, April 14, marks the 8-year anniversary of Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. so it's the perfect time to add the album to your physical collection.
The album, Kendrick’s fourth studio effort, stands tall in Kendrick's discography, garnering both widespread critical acclaim and commercial hits.
For one, the album’s first single, “Humble,” became Kendrick's first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 as a lead artist, preceded only by his feature on Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” remix. The track, still considered a staple of Kendrick’s catalog, went on to win in three categories at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Song.
DAMN., meanwhile, took home Best Rap Album, beating out Jay-Z’s 4:44 and Tyler, The Creator’s Flower Boy, among others.
This wasn't Kendrick's first time at the top, as DAMN. took the top spot in Complex's 2017 ranking, besting other high-profile releases from Future and Lil Uzi Vert in the process. Speaking with Zane Lowe surrounding the release of the album, Kendrick explained his approach when it comes to controlling the amount of exposure he allows himself to have to the public’s reaction to any given piece of work.
“Man, as soon as I hit mastering, I just turn that thing in and I try not to listen to it or even see the actual response for a while,” Kendrick said at the time. “Because I’ve been attached to this piece of art for the last year and some change. I’ve indulged so much, I don’t even want to hear it; I just want to give it to the people and let them take it and live with it and breathe it. Then when I come back on that stage, that’s when I want to feel it.”
DAMN. is one of those albums that’s always worth looking back on, whether by revisiting our 2017 review or considering what is Kendrick Lamar's best album? Its songs are also worth reflection on an individual level, with several of them previously being ranked quite high by Complex back in 2017.
Never one to repeat himself, Kendrick waited five years to launch his next main discography entry, the concept album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. Two years later, we got GNX, which will soon be taken out on the road for a SZA-featuring stadium run slated to begin later this month in Minneapolis. That album, preceded by a blockbuster feud with Drake, came in at No. 1 on Complex's ranking of the best releases of 2024.