Kendrick Lamar performs Oct. 13, 2023, on the American Express stage during Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park. © Dave Creaney/For Austin American-Statesman. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The people have picked their favorites.

Kendrick Lamar’s GNX has been out for long enough that the commercial milestones are catching up to the weight of its critical acclaim. This week, the album became the fastest rap album of 2024 to reach one billion streams on Spotify, and one of the fastest hip-hop projects of all time to do so on the streaming platform. Not only that, but three of its tracks – clearly the biggest fan favorites – have sold over one million units in the United States, these being “squabble up,” “tv off,” and “luther.” Of course, these are the bangers off the record with catchy hooks, notable lines, cheeky moments, and overall addictive atmospheres.

Maybe hardcore fans might prefer something like “reincarnated,” “hey now,” or “gloria,” but we can’t deny that these Kendrick Lamar tracks are worthy of their sales-based leadership of GNX as a whole. After all, they are part of the reason why Billboard named him the best pop star this year, as divisive as that conclusion and label became on the Internet. With a lot of momentum to carry into 2025 for his Super Bowl halftime show, we’re sure that these tracks in particular will carry much of that excitement.

Kendrick Lamar’s Three Platinum-Eligible GNX Cuts

“tv off” even directly names New Orleans, SZA’s feature on “luther” really excited fans ahead of her stadium tour with Kendrick Lamar, and “squabble up” is a track we’ve been waiting for ever since the “Not Like Us” music video. Needless to say, the hype behind all these tracks is a solidly understandable one, regardless of your thoughts on them. We wonder if other cuts off GNX will become late bloomers down the line, as there are even better songs on the album that share many of these three platinum-eligible tracks’ best qualities and then some.

Meanwhile, we’re sure that this news about Kendrick Lamar’s success will cause more debates and skepticism around the Drake battle, as people decide when to care about numbers or not. But these days, it seems like both artists are happy to keep this as a not-so-subtle background to their moves rather than the focal point they established with their diss tracks. But with records like these three hits, there’s so much more to enjoy than than discourse.