A Track-by-Track review of Kendrick Lamar's new album 'GNX'
Over six months after Kendrick Lamar released his chart-topping and six-time Grammy-nominated diss track, Not Like Us, the Compton native surprise dropped a new album titled GNX.
Although rumors surrounding an upcoming Kendrick album have been going viral for several weeks following his headliner announcement for Super Bowl LIX, Lamar decided to release his sixth studio album yesterday without any prior announcement.
However, a few hours before the LP was distributed, Kendrick Lamar uploaded a one-minute snippet of GNX to YouTube. The music video went viral across social media, leading fans to believe K-Dot was initiating an album rollout.
The rapper's sixth album was uploaded to all major streaming platforms on November 22, 2024, via pgLang, under an exclusive license to Interscope Records.
Kendrick's GNX officially follows up on 2022's Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, which debuted at the top of Billboard's album charts after selling close to 300,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.
Breaking down Kendrick Lamar's sixth studio album 'GNX'
Following his historic lyrical war with Drake in May, Kendrick Lamar has decided to close out 2024 with the release of his highly anticipated sixth studio album GNX. The Compton native brought on peers and frequent collaborators SZA, Ink, Roddy Ricch, and more, to feature on the LP.
Kendrick also teams up with his Not Like Us producer, DJ Mustard, to assist in co-producing GNX alongside producers like Jack Antonoff, Sounwave, and Kamasi Washington.
Kendrick Lamar's sixth album features 12 full-length records, with a complete runtime of 44 minutes. Notable themes explored on GNX have been listed below:
- Legacy
- Success
- Truth
- Faith
- Love
- Relationships
- Heartbreak
- Adversity
- Desire
- Addiction
- Culture
- Death
- Violence
Disclaimer: This review is rated explicit. Reader discretion is advised.
wacced out murals
(Production Credits: Sounwave, Dahi, Jack Antonoff, Frano, Craig Balmoris, Matthew “MTech” Bernard, and Tyler Reese)
Kendrick Lamar opens GNX with a highly anthemic track titled wacced out murals, where he aggressively delivers unfiltered statements regarding his legacy in hip-hop.
K-Dot delivers three verses on wacced out murals, all of which directly speak to his outlook on the current state of rap. He references his recent single, Watch The Party Die, when explaining why the current hip-hop generation could never compete with him and his desire for truth.
"Don't insult my intelligence, I'm not just for the television / Teleport to Bullets Road and dig up all my relatives / Okay, n---a, let's settle it, these n----s been fake loyal / Since y'all pandering to choose a side, let me do it for you / Okay, f--k your hip-hop, I watched the party just die" - Kendrick Lamar raps on 'wacced out murals'.
squabble up
(Production Credits: Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Scott Bridgeway, and Matthew “MTech” Bernard)
Kendrick immediately draws listeners into the teaser that was previewed at the start of Not Like Us' music video, confirming past rumors that the snippet was from his upcoming album.
Opening as the second track on K-Dot's sixth studio album is squabble up, revealing a unique sample of Debbie Deb's 1983 hit When I Hear Music as part of the record's viral hook.
The bouncy instrumental is supported by Kendrick's unserious delivery, which at times seems to mock the people within his circle, suggesting how nobody is safe from Dot's seemingly profound honesty.
"What the f--k? / I got hits, I got bucks, I got new paper cuts / I got friends, I got foes, but they all sitting ducks / Hit his turf and get crackin', double back like a deluxe / Fifty deep, but it ain't deep enough / F--k a plea, there he go, beat him up / Fallin' from my money tree and it grow throughout the months" - Kendrick Lamar raps on 'squabble up'.
luther (feat. SZA)
(Production Credits: Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Roselilah, Matthew “MTech” Bernard, Scott Bridgeway, and Kamasi Washington)
Opening with a sample from Cheryl Lynn’s cover of the 1967 record If This World Were Mine, Kendrick Lamar delivers his fifth collaboration with longtime friend and TDE signee SZA on luther.
The track is built over a lush R&B instrumental, with Kendrick going solo on the first verse before uniting his performance with SZA, who brings a sense of vulnerability to the record.
Both artists perform the remainder of luther together, perfectly stacking their vocals on top of each other, as they explore themes of love, relationships, heartbreak, and struggles. This is best noticed on the song's hook, where Kendrick and SZA sing:
"In this world, concrete flowers grow / Heartache, she only doin' what she know / Weekends, get it poppin' on the low / Better days comin' for sure / If this world were— / If it was up to me / I wouldn't give these nobodies no sympathy / I'd take away the pain, I'd give you everything / I just wanna see you win, wanna see / If this world were mine"
man at the garden
(Production Credits: Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Matthew “MTech” Bernard, Craig Balmoris, and Tyler Reese)
On man at the garden, a title that appears to be a biblical reference to paradise, Kendrick preaches his humanity and unfaltering faith to listeners when explaining why he "deserves" all the accolades that come his way.
With three verses, delivered over a simpler production that increasingly ramps up toward the end, Kendrick Lamar professes his ideologies on the legacy by highlighting the various struggles and adversities he's faced throughout his career.
In the final verse, Kendrick interestingly switches his attention to his family, crediting them for his legacy because of the important values they instilled within him, as seen in lines like:
"Put a smile on my mama / Good health and good karma / Yeah, she deserves it all / One hundred murals out in Compton / Remember me? I kept my promise / Yeah, we deserve it all / A better life for my daughter / Made my son take it further than his father / Yeah, he deserves it all / A close relationship with God / Whisper to me every time I close my eyes / He say, You deserve it all"
hey now (feat. Dody6)
(Production Credits: Mustard, Sounwave, and Jack Antonoff)
Kendrick teams up with underground Compton rapper Dody6 on the fifth track of GNX, titled hey now.
The track is fueled by its West Coast energy, credited to lead producer Mustard, and is supported by Kendrick Lamar's somber flow and aggressive lyricism that seemingly references his 2024 beef with Drake.
From suggesting he had the same 24 hours to write his diss tracks to themes of gentrification, Kendrick transitions out his second verse allowing Dody6 to close out the record.
Dody wraps up hey now with a bouncy verse that delves into similar themes of success, wealth, and rising above adversities. Notable bars from this record include lines like:
"You play God, you gon' get what you ask for / We got the same twenty-four, what you mad for? / I put a square on his back like I'm Jack Dorsey / It's high beams if I make a public appearance / Go back to hidin' 'cause I'm not too friendly with n----s / One one thousand, two one thousand, four / The Black know I just strangled me a goat / I walked in with a therapeutic flow"
reincarnated
(Production Credits: Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Noah Ehler, and Matthew “MTech” Bernard)
Fueled by an empowering piano melody and a hyper-aggressive vocal performance from Kendrick Lamar, the Compton native introduces listeners to a thought-provoking record titled reincarnated.
The lyricism on this track finds Kendrick conceptualizing various versions of his past selves, all of which appear to have been talented artists who eventually succumbed to their addictions and deepest desires.
The track's third verse finds Kendrick speaking on his current legacy, highlighting a conversation between himself and his father, Kenny Duckworth. His father urges Lamar to open his heart and leave behind his prideful vengeance or else he too will end up like past incarnations of himself.
"Centuries you manipulated man with music / Embodied you as superstars to see how you moving / You came a long way from garnishing evilish views / And all I ever wanted from you was love and approval / I learned a lot, no more putting these people in fear / The more that word is diminished, the more it's not real / The more light that I can capture, the more I can feel"
tv off
(Production Credits: Mustard, Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Sean Momberger, and Kamasi Washington)
One of the most impressive productions appears on a track titled tv off, where Kendrick Lamar teams up with his No.1 collaborator DJ Mustard to deliver a track dripping with electric West Coast energy.
From screaming DJ Mustard's name during the second half of the song to addressing the superficial nature of hip-hop's current culture, Kendrick's lyricism and performance transform this track into an absolute anthem. Notable bars from tv off include lines like:
"I hate a b---h that's hatin' on a b---h and they both ho-s / I hate a n---a hatin' on them n----s and they both broke / If you ain't coming for no chili, what you come for? / N---a feel like he entitled 'cause he knew me since a kid / B---h, I cut my granny off if she don't see it how I see it, hm / Got a big mouth but he lack big ideas / Send him to the moon, that's just how I feel, yellin"
dodger blue (feat. Sam Dew, Ink, and Roddy Ricch)
(Production Credits: Sounwave, Terrace Martin, Jack Antonoff, Tane Runo, and Tim Maxey)
Kendrick Lamar teams up with artists Sam Drew, Ink, and Roddy Ricch, for a record titled dodger blue, fueled by a soft R&B instrumental which can be attributed to the talents of Sounwave and Jack Antonoff.
From shouting out Tarantino to name-dropping Gardena High School, this track is filled with several pop culture references. However, Kendrick primarily centers dodger blue's premise on his love for Los Angeles, the City of Compton, and the West Coast, as seen on lines like:
"So fly in this b---h / Fifty on me, don't die tryin' and s--t (Ooh-ooh) / You know I’m up and down when I slide in this b---h / Dreamers and the Jets outside in this b---h / Westside, get the money, yeah, that’s fo' sho’ / Streets don't love you, better respect the code / Ain't no sleepin' in on Sunday / If it’s 'bout the money, then my n----s on go"
peekaboo (feat. AzChike & Dody6)
(Production Credits: Sounwave, Scott Bridgeway, and Sean Momberger)
Opening as the ninth track on GNX is another collaboration between Kendrick Lamar and Dody6, titled peekaboo, which also features Los Angeles native AzChike. K-Dot spends his verse playfully alluding to his favorite cultural moments, many of which stem from his love for LA.
An interesting entendre can be found in the opening verse where Kendrick shouts out Kobe Bryant's iconic 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors, when seemingly claiming himself as the winner in his beef with Canadian rapper Drake.
"Peekaboo, I just put them boogers in my chain / Peekaboo, eighty-pointers like a Kobe game / Peekaboo, 7.62s'll make 'em plank / Peekaboo, poppin' out, you better not smut my name / Peekaboo, put two foreigns on the 405 / Peekaboo, cacio e pepe if I'm doin pasta / Peekaboo, why you actin' tough on IG Live?" - Kendrick Lamar raps on 'peekaboo'.
heart pt. 6
(Production Credits: Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Juju The Fool, and Matthew “MTech” Bernard)
In continuation with his "Heart Series," which was first introduced in 2010, Kendrick Lamar gives long-term fans the record titled heart pt. 6. He appears to reclaim his personalized series after Drake released The Heart Part 6 as his final diss track aimed at the Compton rapper on May 6, 2024.
The track's emotional production finds Kendrick revisiting his past, reminiscing on his come-up days as he attempted to become a signed artist while describing his growing relationship with instrumental figures in his career like Top Dawg, Black Hippy, MixedByAli, Dave Free, Sounwave, and more.
The track describes Kendrick's falling out with TDE and also finds the rapper blaming his ambition and goals as the reason why the Black Hippy Collective, comprised of Lamar, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and ScHoolboy Q, disbanded in 2022. Notable bars from heart pt. 6 include lines like:
"Was excited just to go to them label meetings / Wasn't my record deal, but still, I couldn't beliеve it / Me and Rock inside thе booth hibernatin' / It was simple math, if he made it, that mean I made it / Everything I had was for the team, I remained patient / Grindin' with my brothers, it was us against them, no one above us, bless our hearts"
gnx (feat. Peysoh, Hitta J3, and YoungThreat)
(Production Credits: Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Rascal, Kenny & Billy, and Tim Maxey)
On the titular track of GNX, Kendrick Lamar teams up with rappers Peysoh, Hitta J3, and YoungThreat, for an extremely braggadocious record supported by one of the simpler productions seen on the LP.
While Kendrick's hook is catchy and is reinterpreted several times throughout the song, the features on gnx do a lot to carry the track to the end. Notable themes explored include death, violence, success, wealth, struggles, ambition, and legacy.
"Redrum, all I think about when I see heads comе / Do my dance, hit the chop when I see opps go / Lеt 'em claim it, we the ones who really pop, bro / Don't televise it, we the ones who lettin' chops blow / Opps know, let 'em piss him off and it's a flop show" - Peysoh raps on 'gnx'.
gloria (feat. SZA)
(Production Credits: Deats, Sounwave, and Jack Antonoff)
The final track delivered on GNX is Kendrick Lamars sixth collaboration with SZA titled gloria.
Supported by SZA's ethereal vocal performances on the song's hook, Kendrick Lamar metaphorically describes his relationship with his artistry. He revisits first being introduced to rap at the age of 16 before revealing the various traumas he faced that made him want to evolve as an artist.
While on the surface it may seem some bars reference his relationship with Whitney Alford, Kendrick is known to metaphorically refer to his artistry, i.e. "pen," as his true love. This can be best evidenced in the final lines of his third verse where he raps:
"Logical explanation don't exist, flippin' pages / Chapter after chapter, probably remarry and head to Vegas / B---hes gettin' marked out, they can't erase our history / They margins ain't big enough, they all led by bigotry / My woman and my right hand, my saint and my sin / Ain't no b---h like my b---h 'cause that b---h been my pen"
Kendrick Lamar's sixth studio album is an ode to his evolution as an artist, highlighting his legacy and struggles as primary factors for why he's considered one of the greatest rappers of this generation.
With tracks that both revisit and reminisce on his past to more conceptual tracks that delve into darker themes, GNX invites fans into Kendrick Lamar's mind providing an extremely enjoyable and unique listening experience.
