Kendrick Lamar makes waves in the hip-hop community with surprise album ‘GNX’

Illustration by Francesco Thorik-Saboia

Kendrick Lamar is one of the most influential artists in the modern hip-hop era, and his surprise album, “GNX,” lived up to fans’ expectations.

Francesco Thorik-Saboia, Senior Staffer

November 24, 2024

Millions of hip-hop and rap fans worldwide jumped on their favorite streaming service to hear Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX,” a surprise album released Friday.

Lamar, an artist known for taking long hiatuses in between releases, announced the release of his 12-track album on the social media platform Instagram at 11 a.m. CST, shocking and exciting the hip-hop community.

The opening track, “wacced out murals,” builds tension with a synth-driven instrumental after a vocal sample by Mariachi singer Deyra Barrera, whose vocals also appear in the middle and at the end of the album.

Lamar appeared to take shots at Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg on “wacced out murals” by saying that he “let Lil Wayne down” after taking the Super Bowl performance slot from him. He also rapped that Snoop Dogg must have been under the influence of marijuana by seemingly supporting Drake during Lamar’s and Drake’s recent rap beef, which began after Lamar fired shots at J. Cole and Drake on “Like That” by Future and Metro Boomin.

Lamar delivers another explosive performance on the following track, “squabble up,” where he spits out savage lines like “It was woof tickets on sale ’til I silenced it / Pipe down, young, these some whole other politics” over a heavy, ambitious electronic beat. “squabble up” was first teased in a snippet at the beginning of the “Not Like Us” music video which marked the end of Lamar and Drake’s rap conflict.

One of the album’s lowlights comes in the following track, “luther,” which features SZA. Although the introductory beat drop is smooth and SZA’s vocals shine through, the track comes off as forgettable. The same can be said for “dodger blue,” a song with decent vocal performances from featured artists Wallie The Sensei, Roddy Ricch and Siete7x. Still, it remains the weakest link on the album’s mostly-engaging tracklist.

The best song on the album is “reincarnated,” which highlights the lives of legendary Black musicians, such as John Lee Hooker and Billie Holiday, over a beautifully interpolated sample of Tupac Shakur’s “Made N—-z.” It’s reminiscent of Lamar’s unreleased song, “Prayer,” which follows a similar theme of celebrating historically significant Black people in a nuanced way by focusing on their accomplishments while simultaneously recognizing their flaws.

Right after “reincarnated” comes “tv off,” the runner-up for the most impressive record on “GNX.” Producer Mustard’s high energy production comes through in the form of blaring horns and sharp percussion, along with Lamar delivering lyrics like “I’m prophetic, they only talk about how I get it / Only good for saving face, seen the cosmetics.” It refers to how Lamar perceives himself as genuine compared to most rappers, who he seemingly believes put up a facade.

Throughout “GNX,” Lamar effectively uses repetition within verses on songs like “man at the garden” and “peekaboo,” where he repeats the phrases “i deserve it all” and “peekaboo” respectively throughout the verses on both songs. In “man at the garden,” he utilizes it to emphasize his belief that he is deserving of praise for his musical and personal achievements.

On the 10th track, “heart pt. 6,” Lamar takes back the name of his famous “the heart” series from Drake after he used the title on a diss track to target Lamar. The soft, floaty production with reverb-heavy drums creates a mellow vibe that Lamar’s storytelling glides over as he describes his separation from the record label he was previously a part of, Top Dawg Entertainment.

The album closes out with “gloria,” another gorgeous storytelling track with soft production featuring SZA. This time the track explores Lamar’s relationship with the hip-hop genre and his dedication to his musical craft. His last line on the album is “ain’t no b—- like my b—- ‘cause that b—- been my pen,” perfectly encapsulating his love and respect for rap and hip-hop as well as his contributions to the genres.

“GNX” was a complex, engaging release by Lamar that bounced between hype songs and slow, melodic hip-hop ballads. It’s not his best work, but it’s certainly a testament to his skill and consistency as an artist, as well as another record cementing him as the greatest rapper alive. It’s an eight out of 10.

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Twitter: @FrancescoThorik