Kendrick Lamar is perhaps the most acclaimed hip hop artist of our generation, known for stellar albums like Good Kid MAAD City, To Pimp a Butterfly, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning DAMN. However, Lamar is very much an "album" artist, with all three of his main studio albums serving as concept albums centered around a particular story or theme.
As such, it's very hard to gauge what makes him "popular." He has a few "hit" songs, but he's not on the same level of a Drake or an Eminem. Which songs strike a nerve within the Lamar fanbase?
10 Alright (242 Million)
Kicking off the list is Alright, a To Pimp a Butterfly song that became a Black Lives Matter anthem in the mid-2010s. Alright was produced by both Sounwave and Pharrell (who is also featured in the song chanting the chorus) and focuses mainly on Lamar's hope for both himself and the black community. As of writing, the song has 242 million streams on Spotify, making it Lamar's tenth most popular song. It is also one of his most acclaimed, winning two Grammy awards in 2016 for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song. It was also named the best song of the 2010s by Pitchfork, signifying Lamar's utter dominance of the decade.
9 Money Trees (334 Million)
Despite never being released as a single, Money Trees has generated incredible popularity throughout the years. Serving as the fifth track on Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, Money Trees features a guest appearance from Jay Rock and earned critical acclaim when the album was released in 2012. Despite its status as an "album" song, Money Trees has been certified platinum by the RIAA and has been streamed 334 million times on Spotify. It's hard to say what made Money Trees so popular, but it certainly is a banger, and it has rightfully enjoyed some undying popularity throughout the years.
8 King Kunta (350 Million)
Released as the third single from To Pimp a Butterfly, King Kunta sees Lamar at his most confident and confrontational, challenging those who may take his spot at the top. The song features some incredible production from Sounwave, Terrace Martin, and Michael Kuhle, and the music video was locally shot in Lamar's hometown of Compton. It's clear that many fans have taken to King Kunta's funky sound, as it has amassed nearly 350 million streams on Spotify. It has also been certified platinum by the RIAA and reached #2 in Belgium (of all countries).
7 King's Dead (385 Million)
King's Dead is not found on any of Kendrick Lamar's studio albums. Instead, it served as the second single from the Black Panther soundtrack album and the first from Jay Rock's third studio album, Redemption.
That's because King's Dead is technically a Jay Rock song featuring Kendrick Lamar (as well as James Blake and Future), but it's still counted amidst Spotify's most "popular" Kendrick Lamar tunes. The song has been certified 3x platinum by the RIAA and has amassed 385 million streams on Spotify.
6 Loyalty (390 Million)
A Rihanna feature basically makes any song a guaranteed hit. Lamar unfortunately faced some criticism over DAMN owing to its more commercial nature, and this is perfectly summarized through Loyalty. While some fans bemoaned the inclusion of an artist as popular as Rihanna, the song still earned critical acclaim – including the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Performance. It also performed very well commercially, peaking at #14 on the Hot 100, being certified 2x platinum in the United States, and generating 390 million streams on Spotify. While some criticized Lamar for joining with Rihanna, it's obvious that many more showed "loyalty."
5 Pray For Me (436 Million)
Pray for Me served as the third single from the Black Panther soundtrack, and despite being released after King's Dead, it proved more far commercially successful. That undoubtedly has to do with the inclusion of The Weeknd, whose name and pop-oriented approach gave Pray for Me a more radio-friendly identity. The song reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked within the top ten in ten different countries. It has also been certified 2x platinum by the RIAA and has amassed 436 million streams on Spotify – 51 million more than its predecessor.
4 Love (620 Million)
Love faced the same criticism as Loyalty – mainly, a more radio-friendly and "casual" Kendrick Lamar. Featuring Zacari in the chorus, Love has proved one of Lamar's most commercially successful singles. Serving as the third single from DAMN, Love hit #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has since been certified 4x platinum by the RIAA (not to mention Silver in the United Kingdom and 3x platinum in Canada).
It has also amassed 620 million streams on Spotify, making it one of Lamar's most successful singles on the streaming service. But there's still plenty more to go...
3 DNA (666 Million)
Serving as one of the most popular songs from DAMN, DNA goes far harder than both Loyalty and Love and features Lamar in a far more scathing, critical, and poetically-dexterous form. Listeners can hear the utter frustration in Lamar's voice, and the song's titular DNA speaks on a multitude of different themes. While it was never officially released as a single, the song earned popularity thanks to Lamar's rapping, the hard beat, and the incredible music video featuring Don Cheadle. It was certified 3x platinum by the RIAA and has amassed 666 million streams on Spotify as of August 2020.
2 All The Stars (755 Million)
All the Stars beat out both King's Dead and Pray for Me to become the lead single from the Black Panther soundtrack. And, like most lead singles, it proved the most commercially successful of the three. Featuring SZA, All the Stars reached #7 on the Hot 100 and was nominated for numerous awards, including four Grammys and the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Unfortunately, it failed to win any. But what it did win was the hearts of listeners around the world, amassing 755 million streams on Spotify.
1 Humble (1.3 Billion)
Humble is by far Kendrick Lamar's most popular song – the one song that even non-Kendrick fans know and bop to. Serving as the lead single from DAMN, Humble proved a huge success for Lamar, peaking at #1 on the Hot 100 and being certified platinum in eleven different countries (and multi-platinum in six – including 7x platinum in the United States). It also won three Grammy awards – Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video. It's clear by the numbers that Humble is Lamar's biggest song – as of August 2020, the music video has amassed 730 million views on YouTube, and the song 1.3 billion streams on Spotify.
