After winning a rap beef against Drake, Kendrick Lamar continues to make victory laps with a surprise release of his sixth studio album, “GNX”, on November 22, 2024. GNX is a surprise as Lamar made no announcements regarding new music releases since the end of his ‘rap beef.’
The album’s release comes two years after ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.’ Mr. Morale showed Lamar in a different light to listeners as the project was raw and uncomfortable while being sincere.
GNX brings back Lamar’s institutional recognition as the first and only rapper to win a Pulitzer from exceptional feature choices, top-notch production, and his ‘God-given’ lyricism. The album also brings back the Lamar listeners were accustomed to. GNX shares the same devotion to craft that Lamar gave to ‘DAMN’, ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’, and ‘Good Kid, MAAD City.’
Four tracks stand out the most on this album.
The first track, “Wacced out murals”, begins with the first featured artist, Deyra Barrera, through harmonic Spanish vocals. Lamar follows Barrera up immediately by being aggressive, concise, and a seeming target in the rap community. Lamar then fires back at fellow rapper Lil Wayne by mentioning one of his albums saying, “Used to bump Tha Carter III, I held my Rollie chain proud/Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down.” Lamar says this to Wayne, who voiced his disappointment when Lamar was nominated for headlining this year’s Super Bowl halftime show in New Orleans.
From a production standpoint, the track is slow but matches Lamar’s defiant lyricism through strings and background vocals. It is a great track as it continues on Kendrick’s spat with Drake and Lil Wayne in a tame, yet aggressive manner.
“Luther” begins with some guitar and transitions into a sample by the song’s namesake and legendary songwriter Luther Vandross’ song, ‘If This World Were Mine.’ Lamar then begins by changing his aggressive tone to a calm and romantic demeanor. Along with Lamar’s emotional change, the song’s featured artist SZA makes the track sweet and easy to listen to, proving it feasible for non-rap listeners due to her renowned and soothing vocals. Lamar and SZA complement each other very well as their lyrics ‘stack’ onto each other nicely. Arguably, Luther is the album’s best song as it is a melodic masterpiece.
In “Reincarnated’, Lamar pays homage to Tupac with a piano beat reminiscent of some of the late rapper’s songs. Like “wacced out murals”, the track begins with Deyra Barrera’s Spanish vocals, which is then accompanied by Lamar’s lyricism. Instead of ‘sneak dissing’ other rappers, Lamar uses his storytelling skills to rap about being reincarnated into different people and their points of view. Lamar does this in a belligerent and angry tone to emphasize each person’s difficult situation.
Overall, “Reincarnated” is a good track because it utilizes Lamar’s best skills, storytelling, and lyricism well.
Moving back to the past, Lamar talks about his career evolution through “heart pt. 6.” Like other songs in the album, Lamar starts with a guitar, but surprises with a great SWV sample from their hit song, “Use Your Heart.” Lamar turns back time by reflecting on his time with his former label and fellow rappers. Lamar mentions Ab-Soul, Dave Free, Schoolboy Q, and Jay Rock, who were all former members of label and collective, TDE. Lamar then talks about his rise to fame by starting rapping on his own and finishes his verse by giving advice. The song caps off with the SWV sample in a beautiful manner. All in all, the track is Lamar’s best off GNX. Lamar uses a combination of masterful production, storytelling, and lyricism to keep the song concise and coherent.
GNX is a good album made with great production from Jack Antonoff and Mustard, who helped Lamar reinstate himself into the hip-hop scene. GNX is so good that it can pay homage to West Coast rap while including meaningful lyrics. GNX is also a great refresher after the overly uncomfortable “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.”
