I can remember it clearly. I was sitting in AP Computer Science on November 22nd, 2024. I felt my phone vibrate near the end of the period. I picked it up and saw the unbelievable, a full, 12 track LP had just been shadow dropped by the one and only Kendrick Lamar Duckworth.
GNX is the sixth studio album from Compton native, Kendrick Lamar. This record comes hot off a banger year for the artist. A high profile beef with Drake, two number one hits with “Like That and Not Like Us,” the Pop Out concert which brought dozens of artists from all over L.A. (and from rival gangs) onto one stage, and the announcement that he would be headlining the Super Bowl halftime show. If Lamar was on cloud nine, GNX shot him into space.
This project is the shortest studio album from Lamar so far but that in no way means it pulls any punches. The production is electric all throughout and features a wide variety of producers. The primary producer is Sounwave who has worked with Lamar since the track, A.D.H.D off of “Section.80.”
Accompanying him is Dahi who is one of the greatest producers of the modern era with production credits with Lamar, J. Cole, Travis Scott, and Mac Miller. The wild card on the album comes in the form of Jack Antonoff who has production credits on every track but peekaboo.
The feature line up on the album is also incredible. Of course, SZA has two features with “luther” and “gloria,” both of which are absolutely stunning tracks. The other features are artists from Compton, CA. TV off features Lefty Gunplay who Kendrick previously worked with on the unreleased track, Cartoons & Cereal. dodger blue features three Compton artists, the most notable being Roddy Rich who previously released the number one hit, The Box. There are various other Compton artists scattered around the LP along with some producers from the area like DJ Mustard.
The album starts out with straight heat in the form of wacced out murals. This five minute track is nothing but straight lyricism from Lamar. The aggressiveness of the production combined with the piercing lyrics create an incredibly dark intro for the project. This energy is shown two other times on the album with man at the garden and gnx. The former takes a more somber track but maintains the aggressiveness and ego from the album opener with the repeated chorus “I deserve it all.” The latter is something of a Compton posse cut with each verse ending with “tell ‘em kendrick did it.”
Of course with the aggressiveness of some of these tracks, they have to be balanced out by the others. “Dodger Blue” is a chill track again featuring multiple other Compton artists. The same goes for “luther.” This track has a more romantic feel to it as in the second half, Lamar and SZA trade verses like a back and forth dance.
The highest of all of the high points on this record are threefold. First is the track reincarnated. This absolute beast of a track is exciting not just because of the production, but because of the lyricism. Each verse in this song is its own story. Lamar puts himself in both John Lee Hooker and Billie Holiday’s shoes as he delivers the introductory verses. He bounces back to himself briefly before going into what I consider one of his greatest verses ever. The final verse is a back and forth conversation between God and Lucifer at the same time. It is truly a work of art and it leaves me speechless even after dozens of listens.
The next high point comes with the track heart pt. 6. This track recounts Lamar’s early days as an artist. He goes through how he has evolved from where he started. He praises his own accomplishments while also lamenting about what he has left behind. Being pt. 6 of the heart series, I can confidently say that this is my second favorite heart track out of them all (nothing will ever beat five).
And finally, the highest point on this album comes at the closer with “gloria.” Once again, Lamar reunites with Sza to deliver the most beautiful track on this entire album. gloria is a song about love. About its power to heal and the equal and opposite power to harm. The production on this track is stellar with both wavy and plucky strings all throughout. The close of this track features this glorious string outro that Sza glides over in a goddess like fashion.
Overall, a surprise drop from Kendrick never disappoints. While this may not be his best album, it is by no means his worst. It showcased a lot of range and pure skill that has been acrewed over this last year. It also solidified his relationship with Sza as one of the best hip-hop and R&B collaborations ever. 8/10.
Featured Image (at top): An alternate cover to GNX. This album was released on November 22nd, 2024.
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