Kendrick Lamar Lands First No. 1 on Hot R&B Songs Chart With ‘Die Hard’
The entrance also gives collaborators Blxst & Amanda Reifer their first champs on the list.
Kendrick Lamar captures his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart with “Die Hard,” his collaboration with Blxst and Amanda Reifer. The new champ debuts in the top slot alongside the arrival of its parent album, Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
“Die Hard” starts with 27 million official U.S. streams in the week ending May 19, according to Luminate. The sum easily allows for a No. 1 entrance on the R&B Streaming Songs chart, and has the second-best count among Mr. Morale’s 18 tracks, behind only “N95” and its 37.2 million total. “Die Hard” also registered 2,000 sales downloads in the same period and begins at No. 3 on the R&B Digital Song Sales chart.
Lamar’s first leader on Hot R&B Songs comes through his 11th appearance — and only third as a lead artist. Unsurprisingly, as almost all his catalog is rap, his visits to Hot R&B Songs all involve collaborations with other acts. The superstar previously reached the runner-up rank twice in 2018, thanks to “Pray for Me” with The Weeknd and “All the Stars” with SZA. Both tracks appeared on the Black Panther film soundtrack, which Lamar executive produced. “Die Hard” appears on Hot R&B Songs as its vocals are sung, not rapped.
Here’s a full rundown of Lamar’s history on the Hot R&B Songs chart:
Song Title, Artist, Peak Position, Peak Date
“Give It 2 U,” Robin Thicke feat. Lamar, No. 3, Sept. 14, 2013
“It’s On Again,” Alicia Keys feat. Lamar, No. 19, May 3, 2014
“Autumn Leaves,” Chris Brown feat. Lamar, No. 14, Oct. 4, 2014
“That’s Me Right There,” Jasmine V feat. Lamar, No. 10, Nov. 8, 2014
“Freedom,” Beyoncé feat. Lamar, No. 14, May 21, 2016
“Sidewalks,” The Weeknd feat. Lamar, No. 5, Dec. 17, 2016
“Doves in the Wind,” SZA feat. Lamar, No. 13, July 1, 2017
“Pray for Me,” with The Weeknd, No. 2, Feb. 17, 2018
“All the Stars,” with SZA, No. 2, Feb. 24, 2018
“Hair Down,” SIR feat. Lamar, No. 18, Aug. 24, 2019
“Die Hard,” with Blxst & Amanda Reifer, No. 1 (one week to-date), May 28, 2022
“Die Hard” also gives Blxst his first Hot R&B Songs chart-topper, on his second try. His prior high was a No. 22 result as a featured act on Kehlani’s “Any Given Sunday” earlier this month. Amanda Reifer, meanwhile, earns the champ with her first entry on any Billboard chart.
Elsewhere, “Die Hard” debuts at No. 4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and at No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.
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