On Nov. 22, out of nowhere, Kendrick Lamar released a teaser for his new album “GNX.” Two minutes later he released the album in its entirety. The album follows the huge beef between Drake and Kendrick, during which Kendrick released two Grammy-nominated tracks, “Not Like Us” and his feature on the Metro Boomin and Future song “Like That.” It’s his sixth studio album to date, and has a creative blend of fast, aggressive songs with some slower, calmer songs.
The album opens with one of the most haunting and passive-aggressive songs on the album, “wacced out murals.” Kendrick sets the tone with an opening monologue of where his state of mind is after his beef with Drake. In the song, he took shots at multiple artists, including Lil’ Wayne, Snoop Dogg, and J. Cole. One line sets the tone for the album, when Kendrick says, “F*** double entendres, I want y’all to feel this s***,” really showing that “GNX” isn’t about lyricism, but about Kendrick’s raw, real emotions.
Kendrick has two songs featuring SZA on the album “luther,” and “gloria.” Both songs are slow and powerful, SZA’s soulful singing adding a lot to “luther.” “Gloria” is the more interesting of the two, telling a love story that, in an interesting plot twist, is about the relationship between Kendrick and his pen.
The album provides the perfect balance between deep, meaningful tracks, and louder, more aggressive tracks, moving effortlessly between the two. Kendrick shows his technical mastery of rap blended with the strength and replayability of hits like “Not Like Us.” This album in a way is Kendrick saying that he can make an album with songs that are hits and can be played on the radio. The best example of this is “tv off,” one of the biggest songs off the album, that shows his new style pioneered on this album.
The song “squabble up,” another example of Kendrick’s new style, was teased months ago, when the music video for Kendrick’s hit song “Not Like Us.” The video featured a snippet of “squabble up” at the very beginning, which wasn’t on the recording. It’s one of the most popular songs off of the album right now, and is a great, catchy, song.
The best song on the album is without a doubt “reincarnated.” The song is deep and hard-hitting, yet still holds the faster rapping that Kendrick is known for. The song talks about how the struggles of former African-American musicians shaped Kendrick’s career. It begins telling the story of John Lee Hooker, a R&B guitarist who played in 1948. It then moves to the next ‘reincarnation,’ a Chitlin’ Circuit singer struggling with substance abuse who is most likely Billie Holiday. The artists faced problems reflected in Kendrick’s own career, which closes out the song. One of the best verses is a conversation between Kendrick and a god/father figure.
The more underrated tracks on “GNX” are “dodger Blue” and “peekaboo.” “dodger blue” is a very vibey song and maybe one of the most vibey. The only problem with the song is that it’s one of the shortest songs on the album. Another forgettable one but is a solid track is “peekaboo” with an aggressive/fast style of rap.
Two of the best songs on the album are “man at the garden” and “heart part 6.” Both deep tracks with slow rapping, they help create variance in the album. “man at the garden” builds up slowly, with Kendrick repeatedly saying, “I deserve it all” before building up to a near egotistical declaration of his own greatness, yelling, “Why do you think you deserve the greatest of all time!” “heart part 6” is a nostalgic song, with Kendrick reminiscing about his early record label, Top Dawg Entertainment, and the community that helped him succeed.
Last and most certainly least is the title track “gnx.” This track provides a wonky beat with three underground features. There’s not much to the lyrics or the instrumental leaving with probably the worst song on the album.
Overall this album provides a new and fun style to Kendrick’s style while still having deep and thoughtful lyrics but also providing well-composed radio hits. It’s a really strong addition to Kendrick’s already fantastic repertoire.
