May 31, 2025 · Updated Oct 22, 2026 · Artist guide · 13 min read

Kendrick Lamar Albums in Order: The Full Discography, Producers and Where to Start

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Six studio albums in thirteen years, and almost every one changed the conversation. This is Kendrick Lamar’s discography in order, with who produced each record, how it charted, which one to start with and the vinyl worth owning.

How this guide was made: release dates and chart figures come from Apple Music, Billboard and the Wikipedia pages for each album (checked October 22, 2026); producer credits from the album credits. I’m GUIO, a hip hop producer, so I’ve added a producer’s view of how these records were built. First published May 31, 2025; rewritten with GNX, the 2025–2026 Grammys and the Grand National Tour.

Kendrick Lamar albums in order

Two releases sit between the studio albums: the compilation untitled unmastered. (2016) and Black Panther: The Album (2018). Both went to No. 1, which is why you will read that Kendrick had five straight No. 1 albums from To Pimp a Butterfly to GNX counting untitled unmastered.

How many albums does Kendrick Lamar have?

Six studio albums, plus a compilation, a soundtrack, an EP and five mixtapes:

From K.Dot to Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born on June 17, 1987, in Compton, California, to parents who had moved from Chicago’s South Side. He was named after Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations. A quiet student with a stutter, he fell for rhymes and double meanings through poetry lessons in seventh grade, and one of his earliest memories is watching Tupac and Dr. Dre film the “California Love” video in Compton.

As K.Dot he released his first mixtape in 2004 or 2005. His friend Dave Free passed it to Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, and after a two-hour freestyle audition Kendrick signed to Top Dawg Entertainment in 2005, alongside Jay Rock. With Ab-Soul and ScHoolboy Q they formed Black Hippy. In 2009 he dropped the K.Dot name, and Overly Dedicated (2010) reached Dr. Dre, who would sign him to Aftermath.

Every studio album, explained

Section.80 (2011)

Released independently on TDE on July 2, 2011, the debut is a loose concept record about the children of the crack era, built on stripped-down, jazz-tinged beats by TDE’s in-house team Digi+Phonics, plus Terrace Martin and J. Cole. It sold about 5,000 copies in its first week and peaked at No. 113, but “HiiiPower” and “Rigamortus” made the industry pay attention. In January 2026 the RIAA certified it platinum. That November, Drake gave him a solo spot on Take Care, the “Buried Alive Interlude” (see Take Care at 15: producers and samples).

good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012)

Released October 22, 2012, fourteen years ago today, and billed as “a short film by Kendrick Lamar”, it follows one day of teenage Kendrick in Compton through skits, voicemails and songs. It opened at No. 2 with 242,000 copies, is certified triple platinum and became the longest-charting hip hop studio album on the Billboard 200. Rolling Stone named it the greatest concept album of all time in 2022.

Producer notes: DJ Dahi built “Money Trees” on Beach House’s “Silver Soul”, and Sounwave flipped Boom Clap Bachelors’ “Tiden Flyver” for “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe”. Dr. Dre, Just Blaze, Pharrell, Hit-Boy and T-Minus filled out the rest.

To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)

Released March 15, 2015, eight days earlier than planned, it is Kendrick’s jazz, funk and soul record, inspired by Miles Davis and Parliament-Funkadelic and by a trip to South Africa. It debuted at No. 1 with 324,000 copies, earned him 11 Grammy nominations in one night and won Best Rap Album. Rolling Stone ranked it No. 19 among the 500 greatest albums ever in 2020.

Producer notes: this is a players’ record. Terrace Martin, Thundercat, Flying Lotus, Knxwledge and Sounwave brought live bass, horns and keys, with George Clinton, Snoop Dogg and Ronald Isley as guests. “King Kunta” interpolates Mausberg’s DJ Quik-produced “Get Nekkid” and borrows from James Brown’s “The Payback”; Pharrell produced “Alright”, which became a protest anthem.

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Kendrick Lamar · Alright (Official Music Video)

untitled unmastered. (2016)

Eight unfinished demos from the To Pimp a Butterfly sessions, released with no warning on March 4, 2016. Even as a sketchbook it went to No. 1. For producers it is a rare look at Kendrick’s work before the mix: loose jams with Thundercat, Terrace Martin and Swizz Beatz.

DAMN. (2017)

Released April 14, 2017, his biggest commercial record: 603,000 units in the first week, Billboard’s No. 1 album of 2017 and triple platinum by May 2018. “HUMBLE.” became his first No. 1 single as a lead artist. In 2018 it won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, the first time the prize went to a work outside classical music and jazz, and the Grammy for Best Rap Album.

Producer notes: tighter and harder than Butterfly. Mike WiLL Made-It gave him “HUMBLE.” and “DNA.”, Sounwave and DJ Dahi shaped the album, and James Blake, Steve Lacy, BadBadNotGood, The Alchemist and 9th Wonder all contributed.

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Kendrick Lamar · HUMBLE.

Black Panther: The Album (2018)

Asked for a few songs for Ryan Coogler’s film, Kendrick curated and executive produced a full album with Sounwave, released February 9, 2018. It debuted at No. 1, and “All the Stars” with SZA was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022)

After five years away, Kendrick returned on May 13, 2022 with a double album about therapy, family and generational trauma, narrated in part by his partner Whitney Alford. It opened at No. 1 with 295,000 units, won Best Rap Album, and was his last album with TDE. Every track charted on the Hot 100.

Producer notes: a wide cast, from The Alchemist and Boi-1da to Duval Timothy and Baby Keem, with Sounwave tying it together.

GNX (2024)

Surprise-released on November 22, 2024 through his own company pgLang and Interscope, and named after the Buick Grand National GNX. It is a West Coast record made with Sounwave and Jack Antonoff, who recorded around 80 to 100 songs with him to keep twelve. It debuted at No. 1 with 319,000 units while only on streaming and downloads, and all 12 songs entered the Hot 100 at once, filling the entire top five.

“squabble up” and “luther” with SZA went to No. 1; “luther”, built on Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s 1982 version of “If This World Were Mine”, stayed there for 13 weeks, his longest run. At the 68th Grammys in February 2026, GNX won Best Rap Album and was nominated for Album of the Year, which went to Bad Bunny. On vinyl it was the best-selling hip hop LP of 2025 in the US, with 279,000 copies according to Luminate.

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Kendrick Lamar, SZA · luther

Not Like Us, the Super Bowl and the Grand National Tour

In March 2024 Kendrick’s verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” reopened his feud with Drake. Over the next two months he answered with “euphoria”, “6:16 in LA”, “meet the grahams” and “Not Like Us”, a single produced by Mustard in about half an hour around a sped-up sample of Monk Higgins’ 1968 version of “I Believe to My Soul”. It went to No. 1 and won five Grammys on February 2, 2025, including Record and Song of the Year. It is not on GNX.

A week later, on February 9, 2025, he headlined the Super Bowl LIX halftime show with SZA, Samuel L. Jackson, Serena Williams and Mustard. With 133.5 million viewers it became the most-watched halftime show ever, and it won him an Emmy for music direction. From April 2025 he toured stadiums with SZA on the Grand National Tour: Billboard named it the highest-grossing co-headlining tour of all time, with an estimated $390.7 million from 2.04 million tickets over 47 shows.

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Kendrick Lamar’s Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show · NFL

Kendrick Lamar in 2026

At the 68th Grammy Awards in February 2026 he won five more: Best Rap Album for GNX, Record of the Year and Best Melodic Rap Performance for “luther”, Best Rap Song for “tv off”, and Best Rap Performance with Clipse and Pharrell for “Chains & Whips”. That brought him to 27 Grammys, the most for any rapper. He also appeared on his cousin Baby Keem’s album, on “Good Flirts”. As of October 22, 2026, there is no announced follow-up to GNX.

What is the best Kendrick Lamar album, and where should you start?

• Start here: good kid, m.A.A.d city. One story, big hooks, and the clearest view of his writing.
• The masterpiece for producers: To Pimp a Butterfly. Live musicians, jazz harmony and funk bass; the record most beatmakers study.
• The hits: DAMN. “HUMBLE.”, “DNA.”, “LOYALTY.” and a Pulitzer.
• The current sound: GNX. Short, West Coast and built for cars and stadiums.
• Last, not least: Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. His most personal album, and it rewards a full listen.

If you are building a collection, all five have official vinyl pressings; see our best hip hop vinyl records to own for how they sit next to the rest of the canon.

Who produced Kendrick Lamar’s albums?

Producer’s corner: what beatmakers can learn from Kendrick’s records

One producer as the thread. Sounwave has been there from Section.80 to GNX. Kendrick works with dozens of producers per album, but one person who knows the whole picture keeps it sounding like one record.

Sample flips that change genre. An indie dream-pop song (“Silver Soul”) became “Money Trees”; a Danish electronic track became “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe”; a 1968 soul cover became “Not Like Us”. The lesson: dig outside hip hop, then make it hit like hip hop. If you work from records, our guide on how to sample vinyl covers the setup.

Musicians in the room. To Pimp a Butterfly sounds alive because the West Coast Get Down players, Terrace Martin, Thundercat and saxophonist Kamasi Washington among them, are on it. Even on GNX, Kamasi Washington is credited on “luther” and “tv off”. A live bass line or horn over a programmed drum loop is still one of the strongest moves in the genre.

Space for the voice. On “HUMBLE.” Mike WiLL leaves little more than piano, 808 and claps. The busiest rapper of his generation is often on the emptiest beats. That is a mixing decision as much as a production one.

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Kendrick Lamar · Not Like Us

Listen to Kendrick Lamar

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