Album Review: Kendrick Lamar - "GNX"

Kendrick Lamar exceedingly capitalizes on his massive year of success with a victory lap of an album that's effortlessly full of swagger, braggadocio, and charm. GNX is the icing on the cake for Lamar and it's one of the year's best. I'm tripping and I'm loving it.

If there's one rapper who has had the biggest year in 2024, it's got to be Kendrick Lamar. I think my fellow readers can probably guess as to exactly why. I won't get too much into the details here (you can look that up for yourself) but Kung Fu Kenny got into quite the historic rap battle of the century with certified "lover boy" Drake, starting with Lamar going off on Drake with some additional verses from Future and Metro Boomin's "Like That." Great song! This ignited a years old rap beef that then quickly spanned multiple diss tracks back and forth until Lamar hit the final blow with "Not Like Us." Though technically not the final track in the beef (that's Drake's embarrassingly sore and whiny "The Heart Part 6"), "Not Like Us" not only proved to be an absolute K.O. and unanimously crowned Lamar as the winner, but proved to be an infectiously fun and catchy rap song that is universal despite its diabolical allegations for Drake within its lyrics. It charted at number one on the charts and it's widely considered to be this year's song of the summer (and of the entire year, frankly) and I would wholeheartedly agree with that statement. Not only this song and the beef, but Lamar was also announced to headline the Super Bowl halftime show in February (which will be so spectacular to see the crowd and all the millions watching unite and come together by chanting "O-V-Hoe!" in unison). And to top it all off, Lamar released his triumphant music video for "Not Like Us" (on Independence Day, of all days!) and cemented Lamar's year as his biggest one in his career so far. AND "Not Like Us" is up for numerous Grammys as well, including "Song of the Year" and "Record of the Year," among others.

But wait, there's even more! Out of the blue, Lamar releases a new studio album, titled GNX, only further cementing his dominance. GNX, named after the brand of car his father owned when he drove newborn Kendrick from the hospital to his home, is one-hundred percent a victory lap from his already stunning year. GNX didn't have to be good, or even great for that matter. Simply the fact that GNX exists as an album will only add to his success and not subtract from it. But the fact that GNX is this good? That makes it all the better. GNX is the icing on the cake for Kendrick. The fact that it's quite fantastic in terms of quality makes his year even more notable than it already was. His sixth studio album and first released not on TDE but instead on his own label through Interscope, GNX exceedingly capitalizes on his latest success and is full of swagger, braggadocio, and charm. No, there aren't any explicit jabs directly at Drake on the album, unless you count the actually release of this album as a jab towards Drake in the abstract. There are references to numerous artists, including a shoutout to jazz extraordinaire Kamasi Washington, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Nas, hot producer Mustard (we'll get to that). But there's nothing extremely ruthless or cutthroat towards any individual but rather just everybody. It's villainous in one way (declaring "fuck everybody" on the album opener "Wacced Out Murals") and entertainingly braggadocios in another ("I'll cut my granny off if she don't see it how I see it" on the phenomenally charged up "TV Off").

The album's production is exceedingly fun, vibrant, and unpredictable at points, where it'll go from acoustic Latin guitar music and vocals to an all out fiery, horns blazing hip hop banger. Helmed by high profile producers Jack Antonoff, Sounwave, and Mustard, the production isn't anything super experimental, but its beats fit right in with Lamar's wheelhouse like a puzzle piece and they are simply great to listen to with Lamar spitting over them. The album doesn't exactly have any set theme or concept, unlike To Pimp a Butterfly, Good Kid, or his last album Mr. Morale, but it acts like a celebratory retrospection on how far he's come as well as a congratulatory achievement as to what he's done. There are numerous guests on here and the majority of them are quite unknown to the larger public. Most of the guests are lesser known, West Coast affiliated rappers (Dody6, Lefty Gunplay, YoungThreat) and are all entertaining for the most part, but their placements act more as promotional references to young West Coast hip hop's resurgence rather than an actual support system on a rap album, which honestly isn't a bad thing when Kendrick is on this hot of a streak. SZA is prominently featured on a couple of the moodier, more melodic tracks "Luther" and "Gloria" (which are both excellent, by the way) and Roddy Rich is swiftly featured on "Dodger Blue" but outside of these moments, Lamar is really the biggest star of the show and expectedly so. Lamar's charm, infectious personality, flow, and introspective, hilarious lines and vocal accents on top of these glorious instrumentals make GNX one of the most entertaining and memorable albums of the year.

These songs are dramatic and cinematic, as well as infectious and like that of a blockbuster. "Squabble Up" is a notable highlight that' has catchy hooks, quirky beat, and memorable Debbie Deb sample. Is stickiness is a good reason why this deservedly reached number one on the charts recently. "Luther" is a smooth, beautiful duet with Lamar and SZA and it continues to prove how great they sound together. "Man at the Garden" is a moody, skeletal cut about recognition and deserving what you earn, repeating "I deserve it all." Its instrumental is surprisingly ambient and I love its many sonic details, such as the solid guitar riffs hiding in the background. "Hey Now" is a personal favorite that's addictively repeatable with its satisfying nocturnal beats and many, many menacing lines ("The Black Noah, I just strangled me a goat"). Its unexpected switch up into a triumphant, powerfully sung synth heavy climax is fantastic. "Reincarnated" is a stellar jazzy rock instrumental with a fiery vocal delivery from Lamar. "TV Off" is the massive highlight for me. It's got as much swagger, personality, and hilarity as a "Not Like Us" or "Family Ties," the memorable single he is on with his cousin Baby Keem a couple years back. Its horn heavy instrumental is that of a hyped up battle anthem. My favorite moment on the album is when Lamar violently screams "MUSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!" as a stellar nod to the Mustard, who produced the track himself. Lefty Gunplay's repeating "crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious" line is probably my favorite line on the album that's from a guest rapper. It's infinitely replayable and I wouldn't be surprised if his screaming producer mention is a meme already.

"Dodger Blue" is another smooth, electro pop instrumental a la "Luther" and it works quite well with all the numerous guests featured on it. "Peekaboo" is another highlight that has the album's funniest moments like the swiftly repeating "what they talkin' about, they talkin' about nothin'" and slurring "hey hey hey hey" lines from Lamar. It also features what might be my favorite line: "beam bop boom boom boom bop bam, the type of shit I'm on, you wouldn't understand." It's lines like these that are so goofy and ridiculous that no other rapper of this caliber could even pull them off convincingly but Lamar continues to do so flawlessly. "Heart Pt. 6" continues his "Heart" series with a sixth installment that talks about his days in the Black Hippie supergroup (with TDE affiliates Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q) and his time with TDE, the label that was his home for the majority of his studio album career. Although this song has the same name as Drake's recent diss track that is purposefully aimed to poke at Lamar, it doesn't seem to be bothering him in the slightest. The album's title track gratefully hypes up Lamar as an icon by repeating "tell him Kendrick did it" in joyous and charming fashion.

On that same song, once you hear Lamar claiming "I'm trippin' and I'm lovin' it," you pretty much get GNX's entire emphasis in a nutshell. It's an ecstatic victory lap that highlights all that he's accomplished this year, how much fun he's having, and how much of an impact he's had within not just the music world, but entertainment and pop culture as a whole. It's the year's best rap album and one of the year's best albums overall, despite it being released this late into the year (which is so funny to me, picturing all the major music publications frantically rewriting their end of the year lists because November is the end of the year apparently, according to them). Lamar doesn't exactly have much to prove or anything for that matter, but that won't stop Lamar from continuing to release some of the year's best music and continue to be one of the best rappers of the modern era. Lamar is riding out in the sun, yelling "MUSTARD!" in his GNX, and if 2024 was any indication, we'll be seeing him continue to charm, mesmerize, and captivate in the near near future. I can't wait for Super Bowl Sunday.

My Rating: 9 / 10

Favorite Songs: "TV Off," "Hey Now," "Squabble Up," "Peekaboo," "Reincarnated," "Luther," Wacced Out Murals," "GNX"