Kendrick Lamar surprised fans and released the mostly unannounced GNX album. His sixth studio album comes just months before his much-talked-about Super Bowl show. It’s been 13 years since his Section.80 debut, and today he is an icon dealing with usual life issues and the burdens of success. GNX is the first album released on his PNG Lang label after leaving Top Dawg Entertainment and Interscope. He kicks off the album, which is named after a Buick model, with “wacced out murals,” reporting on haters and how he dismisses them over horns and sirens, made for an epic drama. Lamar sets the tone and then raps about rappers with fake identities, his upcoming Super Bowl performance, love, success, and of course, the feud with Drake that led “Not Like Us” to become the biggest single of 2024.
Everything is not about being a weary rap king though; “Squabble Up” flips Debbie Deb’s freestyle classic, “When I Hear Music,” to become a twerk-worthy anthem. Sza is one of the guests, and she joins Lamar for the R&B duet “luther,” which is a tribute to the late crooner Luther Vandross and ’80s soul siren Cheryl Lynn. Lamar picks up where Mary J. Blige and Method Man’s “All I Need” and Nas and Lauryn Hill’s “If I Ruled the World” left off. The responsibilities of being a rap king and the attending accolades (Pulitzer, platinum status, and plenty of money), won’t change the fact that GNX sounds like there is still a mountain or two left for him to climb. “Man at the Garden” could be his take on Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” with its melodramatic and almost suspenseful atmosphere. Lamar demands more recognition and luxury lifestyle signifiers, signaling a hunger to reach another level of status in the Western world. Fans are still obsessing over the Drake thing, especially now that the Canadian rapper filed a lawsuit against the record label for allegedly using Payola to make Lamar’s “Not Like Us” a hit. GNX’s release comes at the perfect time because it will be promoted on one of the biggest stages in the world at the game next year. Additionally, it reminds everyone that Lamar stands out as one of the most competent and creative voices of his generation, not just as the guy who beat Drake in a battle.
