Did Kendrick just secure the album of the year in November? It’s possible.
Kendrick Lamar’s newest project, GNX, which came out on the 22nd of November, stunned fans. No one saw the drop coming, making it feel like time had stopped with its release. When I opened social media that Friday, all I saw was the shared shock and excitement millions of people, of all ages had. Kendrick hadn’t released any music since the sensational hit diss track, “Not Like Us” in May of this year. His career has been at an all-time high with his gained popularity from his ‘beef’ with the other top dog, Drake. Other than “Not Like Us”, Kendrick dropped “meet the grahams”, “euphoria”, and was featured on “Like That” by Future and Metro Boomin, all earlier this year. GNX almost established Kendrick’s superiority in the “MVP” spot, along with announcing his 2025 tour with SZA. His GNX album immediately hit No. 1 on Billboard 200 and has already received 379.72 million streams and 32,000 sales.
The album has 12 tracks and is 44 minutes long. When I first listened to it, I was pleasantly surprised with the different sounds of it, as the kind of beat and fast-paced rhythms were something I hadn’t heard from Kendrick before. I first noticed that the album sounded very West Coast-centric with Spanish-speaking features and other components that are commonly heard in music from the Hispanic population in LA, such as acoustic guitar and booming beats, especially on the songs “reincarnated” and “wacced out murals”.
I noticed that the songs on this release sound a lot less melodic as some of his other works. The songs have harsher, more repetitive beats, and synth, like on “gnx” and “squabble up”. I usually don’t like this kind of synth and staccato syncopation that LA rap typically has, but this album definitely made me like it more. Although, that may just be because I’m a Kendrick fan.
The lyrics in these tracks also seem a lot more combative and less complex than in past albums. For example, he says “Sh*t get spooky, every day in October”, a diss at Drake, on “hey now” (since Drake is commonly associated with October through his record label “October’s Very Own”). Usually, when I listen to Kendrick’s music, I really have to unpack and take time to understand his beautifully crafted lyricism; however, I don’t feel the same about the music in this album. My least favorite on GNX is probably “tv off”. Even though the song is so popular, it’s ruined for me when it sounds like he’s about to lose his voice screaming “Mustard”. The second half of the song brings in additional horns and synth which I also find frustrating. However, my favorites are the two songs SZA features on, “gloria” and “luther”. These songs slow down the album and sounds like it could be part of “DAMN” with its catchy and calm melodies. When the violin is introduced on “luther”, it adds the harmonious union I felt was missing from so many of the other songs. And for “gloria”, I just love Kendrick’s flow along with the melody that is simple yet so pleasant and builds upon the lyrics. There’s more violin in use along with soft drums, acoustic guitar, and background vocals that come together beautifully.
Even though this isn’t my favorite album by Kendrick, I would definitely pay as much as it takes to go to his concert in May. I think that there were many strengths in GNX as I stated previously, such as his work with SZA and the inclusion of West-Coast Hispanic culture. I am a Drake fan as well, but the year that Kendrick has had with his previous diss tracks and especially the release of GNX has put him on top for me. That said, there was also a lot I disliked about the album, simply because that type of rap isn’t my taste. GNX is something I would recommend any Kendrick lover, westcoaster, Drake hater, or overall rap fan to listen to.
