Vinyl record for $2500 – Kendrick Lamar cooperates with Gucci

Kendrick Lamar is not only one of the biggest hip-hop stars in recent years in terms of sales, but is also loved by critics. His albums consistently appear in the year-end best-of lists of various music magazines and blogs. The reissue of his album „good kid, m.A.A.d city“ was among the top 10 global best-selling vinyl records of 2022.

The reissue is available on regular black vinyl. If you’re lucky, you might still find the limited edition on opaque red vinyl in some record stores. Both editions are expected to cost somewhere between 30 and 40 euros.

Limited Vinyl Edition designed by Gucci

The latest vinyl edition from Kendrick Lamar’s comes with a completely different price tag. His label Interscope Records are releasing a limited edition of his Grammy-winning album „To Pimp A Butterfly“ with only 100 copies available. The staggering price: $2,500.

You might be wondering why. To be honest, the high price doesn’t really make sense to me either, nor does the target audience for this record. The vinyl edition is a collaboration between Kendrick Lamar, the US-american artist Lauren Halsey and the fashion company Gucci. The vinyl comes in an 11.5” x 11.5″ gallery quality giclée printed cover by Lauren Halsey, fixed to a tan custom dyed linen wrapped vinyl jacket and contains the album with the original 2015 tracklist on double vinyl. The entire package is housed in a custom-designed box by Gucci. Each order also includes a catalog titled „Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined“ celebrating the label’s 30th anniversary.

The edition – perhaps unsurprisingly – is not yet sold out and can still be purchased in Interscope Records‘ online shop. However, shortly after the release of this article, the link suddenly became unavailable, indicating that the edition is no longer available.

Interscope Records turns 30 – Over 50 Vinyl editions for $2,500

If you’re disappointed that the Kendrick Lamar vinyl edition is already sold out or if you’re not a fan of his music, you still have the opportunity to spend a lot of money. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Interscope, as part of „Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined,“ brings together a generational group of visual artists such as Cecily Brown, Lauren Halsey, Rashid Johnson, Takashi Murakami, and Ed Ruscha with iconic musicians from the label’s catalog over the past three decades.

These artists include Nine Inch Nails, Eminem, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, U2 or Olivia Rodrigo. Within this context 57 vinyl editions similar to Kendrick Lamar’s have been created, each limited to 100 copies and available for $2,500. At least 100% of the profits will go to a good cause, specifically the Iovine and Young Foundation, which is building a school in South Los Angeles. You can find all the vinyl editions that have been created, along with purchase links, on the Interscope Records website.

Here are a few selected vinyl editions from Interscope Records as examples: