Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN." Sales Spike 236% Following Pulitzer Prize Win

Kendrick Lamar's Pulitizer Prize win has spiked the sales on "DAMN."

BYAron A.
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At this point, it's hard to argue that Kendrick Lamar isn't one of the best emcees in recent times. His success has been proven both critically and commercially with each album he's released and was further confirmed when he became the first non-classical or jazz artist to land a Pulitzer Prize for DAMN. That win was not only a win for him and Top Dawg Entertainment, but a win for hip hop as a whole. However, the win has done wonders as well as its seen a major spike in sales following the win.

Kendrick Lamar's Pulitzer Prize win has helped his album, DAMN. increase in sales by 236%, Billboard reports. The rapper took home the award for the music category on April 16th. 11K copies of the album has been sold on the week ending on April 19th, Neilsen Music says. The album has now moved 1.1M copies in total.

The recent award helped his album climb back into the top 10 of the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums charts as it lands at number 8. In addition, it also leaped seven positions on the Billboard 200 at number 13. 

Kendrick Lamar was also recently dubbed one of the top artists of 2017 alongside Drake and Eminem.

Following the announcement of his win, the rapper and his fiancée, Whitney Alfred, took a trip to Vatican City for some good ol' fashion site seeing. 


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About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.