Nobody in hip-hop could make the world cease fairly like Kendrick Lamar. Followers obtained a reminder of his gravity when he dropped his newest album, GNX, earlier at present.
Checking in at a dense 44 minutes, the brand new LP arrives about seven months after he beforehand stopped time with “Not Like Us,” a Drake diss monitor that turned iconic shortly after its launch. Coated in layered rhymes, playful cadences and sprawling West Coast flavors, it is an album that builds on the vibes of his Grammy-nominated single. And all it takes is a cursory look by way of the lyrics to see it is simply as fiery.
As is all the time the case with a Kendrick launch, there’s lots to unpack right here. So, let’s open the trunk and get to it. Listed here are Okayplayer’s 10 largest takeaways from Kendrick’s new GNX album.
It’s Extraordinarily West Coast
Rap followers have usually talked about how much less regional rap has gotten because of the web, nevertheless it’s clear right here that Kendrick is providing one thing very West Coast with this launch. And it goes past hip-hop; he’s even obtained visitor spots from Deyra Barrera, a Los Angeles-based mariachi singer and seems on “Wacced Out Murals,” “Reincarnated” and “Gloria.”
Whether or not it’s a hyphy-inflected soundscape, a Drakeo The Ruler-esque stream or visitor spots from regional acts like AzChike, Roddy Ricch, Lefty Gunplay, Hitta J3 and extra, Kendrick weaves his approach by way of numerous elements of the California rap diaspora. All of it performs out like a 44-minute model of the Pop Out. Whereas he makes some prolonged commentary directed at Drake and Canada’s comparative lack of rap historical past, he retains issues targeted on his Coast as a substitute, championing Cali hip-hop — its previous, current and future.
Kendrick and Jack Antonoff Is the Duo We Didn’t Know We Wanted
You wouldn’t be loopy for pondering Kendrick’s “6:16 in LA” was the toughest beat to emerge from the entire Rap World Struggle final spring. You is likely to be a little bit on one when you anticipated it to be co-produced by Taylor Swift’s go-to producer. You’d even be proper. Alongside Sounwave, Jack Antonoff produced the pensive soul beat, and he returns for GNC, the place he lays out beats that would soundtrack a futuristic turf battle.
The tracks listed below are concurrently glossy, pummeling, and cinematic, stark departures from the dreamier choices Antonoff’s accustomed to getting off on tracks like Taylor Swift’s “Antihero.” Simply try “Squabble Up” to see what I’m speaking about. Whereas his Kendrick collabs might sound random, they apparently aren’t; Antonoff is definitely a part of a bunch with Sam Dew and Sounwave. It’s known as Learn Hearse. So with that in thoughts, the synergy right here ought to’ve been anticipated.
Bangers Aplenty
Mr. Morale & The Massive Steppers had some slaps, however this one, as intense as it’s, gives a barrage of anthems his earlier LP didn’t. “Squabble Up” and “Peakaboo” aren’t fairly “Not Like Us,” however they’re going to seek out snug slots close to the highest of that Billboard Scorching 100 chart subsequent week. Additionally: don’t be stunned if we see a surge of hyphy-adjacent raps heading into 2025. The West Coast is about to eat as soon as once more.
– YouTubewww.youtube.com
He Stays the Petty King
Proper from the start, Kendrick makes it clear he’s not an enormous fan of the entire, “let bygones be bygones” factor, reclaiming his Petty Crown with some ferocious bars on GNX opener, “Wacced Out Murals”: “I’ll by no means peace it up; that sh*t don’t sit properly with me / Earlier than I take a truce, I’ll take em to hell with me.” He is possible speaking to Drake — and he appears to counsel that “ole boy” tried to bribe Kendrick’s mates with bitcoin as a way to get details about Kendrick. However broadly talking, it comes off as an “anybody can get it” sentiment. However he does take time to come back at some people by identify.
Referencing the current Lil Wayne-Tremendous Bowl drama, Kendrick pokes enjoyable at Weezy for saying the New Orleans halftime efficiency was “ripped away” from him: “Used to bump Tha Carter III, I held my Rollie chain proud/Irony, I believe my laborious work let Lil Wayne down.” Ouch.
However it didn’t finish there. Simply bars later, he had phrases for Uncle Snoop, too, calling out his fellow West Coast legend for reposting Drake’s Kendrick diss, “Taylor Made Freestyle.” In the event you recall, the monitor noticed Drizzy use AI to rap in Snoop and 2Pac’s voices. And yeah. Kung Fu Kenny wasn’t feeling Snoop’s obvious amusement, and he made an appropriately snarky weed joke to make his level: “Snoop posted “Taylor Made,” I prayed it was the edibles/I could not imagine it, it was solely proper for me to let it go.”
For his half, Snoop served up a immediate response on X. Test it out for your self beneath.
He’s Received Smoke for Rappers — and Outsiders
It’s clear that Kendrick is previous letting rappers off the hook with regards to beef, however make no mistake, he’s obtained smoke for people outdoors the tradition, too — particularly, those that would attempt to disrespect it. That additionally begins on the very starting of the album. Simply try “Wacced Out Murals,” which incorporates an obvious reference to comic Andrew Shulz’s tasteless and unfunny podcast remarks about Black girls: “Do not let no white comic discuss no Black lady, that is legislation.”
The bar, which evokes the identical type of condescending lesson plan Kendrick doled out to Drake on “Meet The Grahams,” additionally nods to the Black episode visitors failing to step up and condemn Shulz’s remarks. So yeah. Kendrick wasn’t having it, and he stands as maybe the one rapper to handle the scenario on a tune.
– YouTubewww.youtube.com
He’s Nonetheless Spraying Righteous Venom at Rap Tradition
No matter occurred between DAMN. and Mr. Morale & The Massive Steppers clearly left a mark on Kendrick’s artistry. You may see it within the spurts of, ought to I say, righteous venom sprayed at rappers any and in every single place. On “Wacced Out Murals” he takes time to evangelise the virtues of monogamy whereas calling out the hip-hop group, their “events” (a possible reference to Diddy, others), and different avenues for general weak spot. He would not do that each monitor, nevertheless it’s positively a recurrent theme.
This One Wasn’t About Numbers
Look, nobody hates saying stuff like, “he did this for the artwork” greater than me, nevertheless it’s clear Kendrick wasn’t bag-chasing or awards-hounding with this one. If he have been, he would’ve included just a few extra high-profile visitor artists as a substitute of the native Los Angeles acts he placed on the LP. Oh, and he additionally would’ve made certain “Euphoria” and “Not Like Us” have been on it — at the same time as bonus tracks. Each songs have collected lots of of tens of millions of streams and can certainly be licensed multiplatinum each time PG Lang and the RIAA determine to get round to it.
GNX is all about Kendrick doing what he wished to do, which is outwardly a complete bunch of West Coast flowing, California celebrating, and a ton of private reflection. And ample shit speaking. If this one goes multiplatinum — which it can — it is only a bonus.
He’s Having A Lot of Enjoyable
Put the hatred apart, and it’s very apparent that Kendrick is having a lot enjoyable rapping. The best way he’s taking part in round with cadences and enunciating sure phrases speaks to kinetic spontaneity that provides phonetic thrills to each syllable. There are moments all through this mission (“Hey Now” all through and that “Hey, hey, hey, hey” line from “Peekaboo”) the place you may’t assist however chortle, evoking the identical response many followers had once they first heard him utter “brother” on “Household Ties.” Gemini vitality is greatest served with a facet of wit — one thing that Kendrick clearly will get.
He Takes Affect From the GOATs
On “Reincarnation,” Kendrick doesn’t simply pattern 2Pac’s “Made Niggaz” — he mimics his cadence and vocal inflections, providing up a supply that’s undeniably harking back to the beloved rapper. Dare I say it is like ’Pac’s been — [gasps] — reincarnatd! However 2Pac isn’t the one rap legend Kendrick channels on GNX. “Males on the Backyard” has Nas’ “One Mic” graffiti’d throughout it, and “Gloria” is a cousin of “I Gave You Energy,” with Nas’ personified gun changed by Kendrick’s pen.
– YouTubewww.youtube.com
He Offers Closure for His TDE Period
It’s not too usually we get closure on this merciless world we’re dwelling in, so it was cool to see Kendrick present us some on “coronary heart pt. 6,” which sees him replicate on his stint with Prime Dawg Leisure (TDE)) and Black Hippy, the group composed of himself, Ab-Soul, Jay-Rock and ScHoolboy Q. After turning into a famous person with the label — one he’d been with for the reason that early 2000s — Kendrick left TDE after releasing Mr. Morale & The Massive Steppers in 2022, working by way of his personal label, PG Lang, and Interscope Data ever since.
His departure basically crushed the hopes of followers nonetheless ready for a Black Hippy album, a truth Kendrick admits to on “coronary heart pt. 6”: “I jog my reminiscence, knowin’ Black Hippy did not work ‘reason for me/Creatively, I moved on with new ideas in attain.”
In itself, the admission is refreshing and considerate. And but, that second isn’t as necessary as his tender reminiscences of these early TDE studio periods, the place Kendrick sounds genuinely in awe of the artists he’d quickly surpass.
