Kendrick Lamar became one of the most popular artists in contemporary hip-hop by setting the bar far more challengingly high for himself and for listeners than most performers of his stature on 2012's Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City and 2015's To Pimp A Butterfly, but on 2017's Damn he did away with the "concept album" format and simply put out a collection of immaculately conceived and expensively produced rap songs graced with some typically heavy, soul-scouring food for thought on the lyrical front.

Recorded with an ensemble of A-list producers and big-name guests -- Rihanna, U2, BADBADNOTGOOD, James Black, the Alchemist, Greg Kurstin, Mike Will Made It and Steve Lacy among them -- Damn really couldn't lose. And it didn't: the album debuted at No. 1 in the U.S. and Canada and wound up becoming Billboard's biggest-selling album of 2017, proving once again that one doesn't have to dumb it down to reach a wide audience in modern hip-hop. You just have to speak to people in honest, relatable terms.

TRACKLISTING:

1. BLOOD.
2. DNA.
3. YAH.
4. ELEMENT.
5. FEEL.
6. LOYALTY FT. RIHANNA.
7. PRIDE.
8. HUMBLE.
9. LUST.
10. LOVE FT. ZACARI.
11. XXX FT. U2.
12. FEAR.
13. GOD.
14. DUCKWORTH.