Kendrick Lamar's latest album GNX has created headlines ever since it came out on November 22, 2024. The new project was released almost two years after the arrival of his fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.
While Lamar has not revealed the exact meaning of the title GNX, the teaser posted by the rapper on the same day of the album's release featured him leaning on the back of a vehicle.
According to the Desert Sun, the car is possibly a GNX, referring to the album's title and the word can be heard in one of the singles, Wacced Out Murals.
There are 12 singles in GNX and it arrives a few months after Kendrick Lamar's feud with Drake, where the duo released several diss tracks between April and May this year, targeting each other's personal and professional lives. Lamar's diss track Not Like Us also reached on top of the US Billboard Hot 100.
Meanwhile, GNX additionally features other artists such as SZA and addresses a lot of other moments, including Lil Wayne's Super Bowl halftime show controversy, as per XXL Magazine.
As mentioned, Lamar has yet to address the reason behind using GNX as the title for his album. However, there is something about Lamar's childhood that is possibly linked to the meaning behind the title.
The album's title seemingly refers to the car Buick Regal, a parent model of GNX. The vehicle was originally launched back in 1987 and it co-incidentally marks the same year when Kendrick Lamar was born. A report by Complex stated that the model was started to showcase the success of GNX at NASCAR.
While speaking to the outlet in 2012, Lamar recalled the time of his birth as he said:
"When I was born, I came home from the hospital in an '87 Buick Regal while my pops was bumping Big Daddy Kane."
Back in March this year, Kendrick also shared an Instagram post about his car, which included two photos from his childhood. The rest of the pictures featured a black car alongside its inner portions. Lamar wrote below the photos:
"I never pick and choose what stories to relate to. All of them is relative. Like my momma say tho. different strokes for different folks. a good ol saying can snap you back into reality sometimes. But in the moment of confusion, the best thing you can do is find a gnx. Make you realize the only thing that matters in life is that original paper work."
Lamar's sixth album has managed to grab a spot on top of the US Apple Music charts, as per a report by No Musica on November 23, 2024. The outlet additionally listed the singles that have been streamed for the highest number of times on Spotify.
Wacced Out Murals is in first position with a figure of 5.42 million streams and Hey Now is on the bottom with 3.77 million. The rest of the positions have been taken by Squabble Up, Luther, and Man at the Garden.
Kendrick Lamar's new album is additionally getting recognition for having multiple references, including his links to the Mexican-American culture in Los Angeles. GNX was released via Interscope Records and PGLang and has received a positive response so far.