Kendrick Lamar - GNX

Kendrick Lamar’s last album was 2022’s ‘Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers’. In the time since then, he’s completely obliterated Drake in a widely publicised rap beef, released arguably the biggest hip-hop single of the year (‘Not Like Us’, currently sitting at nearly a billion streams on Spotify), and been announced as the performer at next year’s Super Bowl halftime show. And all that is without releasing an album.

With that in mind, you’d expect the buildup to a new record to come with quite a bit of fanfare. Instead, Kendrick surprise released ‘GNX’ without even really announcing it. Cue an internet meltdown and a thousand magazine editors frantically adjusting their ‘album of 2024’ lists before their magazines go to print (Yes, we do mean us - Ed). It goes without saying that there’s plenty of discourse to dig into on ‘GNX’, and people will be unpicking disses, double-meanings, and veiled references for months. Opener ‘wacced out murals’ kicks in the door by addressing Lil Wayne’s comments about not being picked for the Super Bowl and Snoop Dogg’s seeming support of Drake during their feud.

By and large, though, we’ll leave the unravelling to the Kendrickologists and focus on what really matters - this album is really, really, really good. While ‘Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers’ saw Kendrick retreat into himself, interrogating his relationships with religion, family, and the world over a sprawling hour and 20 minutes, ‘GNX’ instead cleaves closer to ‘DAMN.’ in its catchy, explosive hooks and trimmed down runtime of just 45 minutes. The production is also some of the poppiest Kendrick’s had in a while, with Mustard and, in a move that nobody saw coming, Jack Antonoff doing double duty across the album alongside a host of other top-tier producers. Retrofuturistic Blade-Runner-esque synths pepper tracks like ‘squabble up’ and ‘tv off’, punctuated by bone-rattling bass which drives the sound forwards. Kendrick’s vocal delivery is some of the most experimental it’s ever been, too, with ‘squabble up’s chorus being delivered in a vocal wobble which falls just the right side of parody, while ‘hey now’ is at points breathy enough to count as ASMR.

It’s not all head-bumping bangers, with SZA-featuring tracks ‘luther’ and ‘gloria’ slowing things right down, while ‘heartpt. 6’ is a bridge between the bangers and the slow jams, with Kendrick ruminating on his early career and name-dropping friends and collaborators, including Ab-soul and Schoolboy Q. SZA’s presence might be the most blockbuster of the features on display, but there’s a refreshing host of smaller names from Kendrick’s native California given space across ‘GNX’. This is most visible on the title-track, which sees Kendrick give space to Hitta J3, Peysoh, and YoungThreat, each giving furious performances over an enjoyable loose and wonky instrumental which would easily trip up lesser rappers.

As well as frontlining talented artists, the inclusion of up-and-coming rappers from his home state is clearly intended as a statement. The Kendrick vs Drake beef was seen as a clash between two visions of what hip-hop means in 2024. Kendrick won the war, but ‘GNX’ sees him trying to win the peace. If rap isn’t just about pop flows and easily digestible chart fodder, what is it about? Hit play on ‘GNX’, and you might find out. You’ll also have a very good time along the way.