Kendrick Lamar Earns His Highest Hot 100 Debut Ever With “Humble”
Kendrick Lamar has earned a personal achievement through “Humble,” the lead single off his upcoming fourth studio album, as the song debuts at No. 2 this week on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was edged out by Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” which spent its 11th week in the top slot.
Not only is “Humble” his highest debut ever on the Hot 100; it’s also the highest charting single as a lead artist of his career. “Swimming Pools” off good kid, m.A.A.d city, which topped out at No. 17 and went gold, was his previous high. By comparison, the highest charting single off To Pimp a Butterfly was “i” at No. 39.
On top of that, “Humble” is the highest debut for a rap song since Eminem’s “Not Afraid” in 2010, which debuted at No. 1. “Love the Way You Lie,” Eminem’s Rihanna collab from the same year, debuted at No. 2 as well.
Only Taylor Swift’s revamped version of “Bad Blood” featuring K-Dot has placed higher than “Humble” in the Compton rapper’s singles catalog. The Kendrick-version of the song made its way to No. 1 after previously sitting at No. 53 on the chart a week prior.
Superproducer Mike Will Made-It can also celebrate the early success of “Humble.” While he’s been the mastermind behind countless singles to chart on the Hot 100, only two have charted as high or higher than “Humble”: Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop” (No. 2) and Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles” (No. 1).
Kendrick is set to drop his new album this week, and while he’s yet to reveal the full tracklist, we know Mike Will has some more heat on the project. Don’t be surprised if one of those songs follows “Humble” as another single. Additional contributors on the album include James Blake, Sounwave, and 9th Wonder.
