section_path: Career/2017–2019: Damn and Black Panther: The Album
section_name: 2017–2019: Damn and Black Panther: The Album
paragraph_text: 2017–2019: Damn and Black Panther: The Album
  
  On March 1, 2017, during a cover story for T, Lamar confirmed that he was working on his fourth album, Damn. He released the promotional single " The Heart Part 4 " on March 23, before releasing the album's lead single " Humble " on March 30. The song debuted at number two on the Hot 100 and reached the top spot in its second week of charting. It is Lamar's second single, and first as a lead artist, to top the chart. Damn was released on April 14. It utilized a more mainstream musical palette than To Pimp a Butterfly, exploring R&B and pop elements. Rolling Stone described its sonics as a "brilliant combination of the timeless and the modern, the old school and the next-level." Damn became Lamar's most commercially successful album. It spent four non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200, marking his third consecutive number-one album, and debuted with 603,000 units sold. All of the album's 14 songs debuted on the Hot 100, including the top-20 singles " Loyalty " and " Love ". Damn was the seventh best-selling album of 2017, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), while "Humble" was the sixth best-selling single of the year. By June 2018, it became the first album by a rapper or solo artist to have every song featured earn a gold certification or higher from the Recording Industry Association of America.
  
  To support Damn, Lamar embarked on his first headlining arena tour, the Damn Tour, from July 2017 to July 2018. It grossed $62.7 million in worldwide revenue, becoming one of the highest-grossing hip-hop tours in history. At the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, Lamar opened the ceremony with a performance of "DNA" and "Humble". He later won five awards, including Best Hip Hop Video, Best Direction, and Video of the Year for "Humble"; the latter win marked the first time an artist won the prize for a video they co-directed. Throughout the year, he was featured on the remix to Future 's " Mask Off ", SZA 's " Doves in the Wind ", and Rich the Kid 's " New Freezer ". He won Best Male Hip Hop Artist at the BET Awards, while Damn won Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Album at the American Music Awards. A collector's edition of the album, which featured its tracklist in reverse order, was released in December.
  
  On January 4, 2018, Lamar announced that he would be curating and executive producing Black Panther: The Album, the soundtrack from the 2018 film. It was released on February 9 and was supported with three commercially successful singles: " All the Stars ", " King's Dead ", and " Pray for Me ". Lamar contributed lead and background vocals to every track on the album, regardless of credit, and produced on select songs. Music critics consider Black Panther: The Album to be a milestone achievement, giving praise towards its lyrics and cultural significance. It spent two consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200, and earned the most single-week streams for a soundtrack album in history. Lamar opened the 60th Annual Grammy Awards with a critically acclaimed medley. He won five awards during the ceremony: Damn was named Best Rap Album, "Humble" won Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video and "Loyalty" won Best Rap/Sung Performance. Damn won the Pulitzer Prize for Music on April 16, 2018, marking the first time a musical composition outside of the classical and jazz genres received the honor.
  
  From May to June 2018, Lamar co-headlined the Championship Tour with several TDE artists. While on tour, he became embroiled in a public dispute with Spotify regarding the streaming service's Hate Content & Hateful Conduct policy. Lamar was featured on five songs throughout the year: " Dedication " by Nipsey Hussle, " Mona Lisa " by Lil Wayne, " Tints " by Anderson.Paak, and "Wow Freestyle" by Jay Rock; he also executive produced the latter's album Redemption and provided background vocals for the album's second single " Win." At the American Music Awards, Black Panther: The Album won Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album. Lamar made his acting debut as a drug addict in the crime drama series Power (2018). After his two concert tours ended, he entered a four-year recording hiatus; although he contributed to Beyoncé's The Lion King: The Gift, Schoolboy Q's Crash Talk, and Sir 's Chasing Summer (all 2019). As his publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music was beginning to expire, Lamar signed a long-term worldwide deal with Broadcast Music, Inc.
  
  On March 1, 2017, during a cover story for T, Lamar confirmed that he was working on his fourth album, Damn. He released the promotional single " The Heart Part 4 " on March 23, before releasing the album's lead single " Humble " on March 30. The song debuted at number two on the Hot 100 and reached the top spot in its second week of charting. It is Lamar's second single, and first as a lead artist, to top the chart. Damn was released on April 14. It utilized a more mainstream musical palette than To Pimp a Butterfly, exploring R&B and pop elements. Rolling Stone described its sonics as a "brilliant combination of the timeless and the modern, the old school and the next-level." Damn became Lamar's most commercially successful album. It spent four non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200, marking his third consecutive number-one album, and debuted with 603,000 units sold. All of the album's 14 songs debuted on the Hot 100, including the top-20 singles " Loyalty " and " Love ". Damn was the seventh best-selling album of 2017, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), while "Humble" was the sixth best-selling single of the year. By June 2018, it became the first album by a rapper or solo artist to have every song featured earn a gold certification or higher from the Recording Industry Association of America.
  
  To support Damn, Lamar embarked on his first headlining arena tour, the Damn Tour, from July 2017 to July 2018. It grossed $62.7 million in worldwide revenue, becoming one of the highest-grossing hip-hop tours in history. At the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, Lamar opened the ceremony with a performance of "DNA" and "Humble". He later won five awards, including Best Hip Hop Video, Best Direction, and Video of the Year for "Humble"; the latter win marked the first time an artist won the prize for a video they co-directed. Throughout the year, he was featured on the remix to Future 's " Mask Off ", SZA 's " Doves in the Wind ", and Rich the Kid 's " New Freezer ". He won Best Male Hip Hop Artist at the BET Awards, while Damn won Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Album at the American Music Awards. A collector's edition of the album, which featured its tracklist in reverse order, was released in December.
  
  On January 4, 2018, Lamar announced that he would be curating and executive producing Black Panther: The Album, the soundtrack from the 2018 film. It was released on February 9 and was supported with three commercially successful singles: " All the Stars ", " King's Dead ", and " Pray for Me ". Lamar contributed lead and background vocals to every track on the album, regardless of credit, and produced on select songs. Music critics consider Black Panther: The Album to be a milestone achievement, giving praise towards its lyrics and cultural significance. It spent two consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200, and earned the most single-week streams for a soundtrack album in history. Lamar opened the 60th Annual Grammy Awards with a critically acclaimed medley. He won five awards during the ceremony: Damn was named Best Rap Album, "Humble" won Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video and "Loyalty" won Best Rap/Sung Performance. Damn won the Pulitzer Prize for Music on April 16, 2018, marking the first time a musical composition outside of the classical and jazz genres received the honor.
  
  From May to June 2018, Lamar co-headlined the Championship Tour with several TDE artists. While on tour, he became embroiled in a public dispute with Spotify regarding the streaming service's Hate Content & Hateful Conduct policy. Lamar was featured on five songs throughout the year: " Dedication " by Nipsey Hussle, " Mona Lisa " by Lil Wayne, " Tints " by Anderson.Paak, and "Wow Freestyle" by Jay Rock; he also executive produced the latter's album Redemption and provided background vocals for the album's second single " Win." At the American Music Awards, Black Panther: The Album won Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album. Lamar made his acting debut as a drug addict in the crime drama series Power (2018). After his two concert tours ended, he entered a four-year recording hiatus; although he contributed to Beyoncé's The Lion King: The Gift, Schoolboy Q's Crash Talk, and Sir 's Chasing Summer (all 2019). As his publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music was beginning to expire, Lamar signed a long-term worldwide deal with Broadcast Music, Inc.