Heavy is the head that wears the crown. And, when it comes to contemporary rap culture, K Dot is indisputably King.
The surprise release of GNX – Kendrick Lamar’s sixth studio album – came towards the end of 2024, a year that was the artist’s most publicized to date. In the summer of that year, Kendrick’s long-simmering feud with Drake escalated to monumental proportions, with both rappers sharing a series of eviscerating, no-holds-barred diss tracks – all while an international listenership salivated and waited for the next beat. The feud climaxed with Kendrick’s ‘Not Like Us’, a fiendishly smart hyphy-rap song that somehow bridged the gap between receiving widespread critical and commercial acclaim – while also directing down-in-the-dirt, mud-slinging shots at Drake (“Say Drake, I heard you like ‘em young?”).
A few months after that beef went worldwide, Kendrick was announced as the headliner for the Super Bowl LIX halftime show. The move not only showcased that he was officially a stadium-sized artist – it also showed that he had become a household name, one who would be recognized by the 100s of millions of people who tune in to watch the Super Bowl globally.
All told, Kendrick Lamar spent 2024 shoring up his position as a cultural force of nature.
It stood to reason then that listeners and commentators were always going to pick apart anything that Kendrick Lamar released following these watershed moments. For his own part, Kendrick kept news about working on this album hidden from the public (even though rumors circulated for months about its existence). This is understandable, given that the artist takes a highly thoughtful, considerate approach to the music he makes – and likely would’ve wanted to avoid being in the public eye while work was in progress.
GNX was released in late November. The album is a dynamic work of art, with more originality than you might have expected for an LP that could simply have been a victory lap following K Dot’s feud victory.
The lynchpin of that originality is, arguably, Jack Antonoff – the pop-sound supremo who has produced zeitgeist-defining albums for the likes of The 1975, Taylor Swift, and Sabrina Carpenter. Credited as a producer on all but one of the tracks on GNX, Antonoff helps refresh Kendrick’s sound, taking him out of his comfort zone while still ensuring that he has his trademark appeal (Kendrick’s long-time producer/collaborator Sounwave is also a key producer on the album, which makes obvious sense).
The beauty of GNX is that it manages to be a genuinely enjoyable album to listen to – even as the listener follows Kendrick trying to untangle himself from the complex web of being at the center of today’s musical, cultural, and political moments.
He navigates everything beautifully. He floats like a butterfly while still, on occasion, managing to sting. In the first song, ‘wacced out murals’, the listener is launched into its intensity, where Kendrick addresses his recent elevation to a globally renown artist. His gift is in how, lyrically, he always stays zen; he never gives into the hype about himself, but still acknowledges his status as the best in the business. It’s his defining trait, and it makes all of his braggadocio bars feel hard-earned.
Later, on ‘squabble up’, Kendrick finds new possibilities within the g-funk sound. This song is so incredibly well-layered that it’s no surprise it became a Chart ranking hit; the song feels futuristic, while also giving off hints of ‘90s dance nostalgia. It’s one of several tracks on the album that showcases Kendrick’s duality, meaning his ability to hold several strands of his rap personality together at any one time. On ‘squabble up’, he deals with universal themes – self-protection, self-evolution, and staying true to yourself against criticism – while also dealing with local themes – with the lyrics that harken back to his upbringing in Compton.
On songs like ‘luther’ and the album closer ‘gloria’, Kendrick delves further into his highly productive collaboration with R&B singer SZA. Not only are both Kendrick and SZA perfect complements for each other musically, but they also act as symbolic foils for each other’s artistry. With SZA on the chorus, Kendrick is able to ask himself questions about his craft, his status, and his legacy. It’s the duality theme all over again.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning the fact that the pacing of this album is inspired. The down-tempo ‘man at the garden’ comes at just the right time, while Track 10, ‘Heart Pt. 6’ arrives at a moment where the listener is fully ready to be drawn into its winding rap-narrative structure. Even with an army of world-beating producers at his beck and call, Kendrick Lamar seems to know when the moment requires him to be sparse and intimate. This is a clear sign of his wisdom as an artist – it’s why he still manages to be interesting now, well over a decade after he became rap music’s leading light.
