Kendrick Lamar's GNX: Album Review
A Comprehensive Dive Into His Sixth Studio Album
Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest hip-hop artists of our generation and if he so happened to retire today his legacy would be cemented as such. Luckily for us as listeners, that day has not yet come. Every time he drops a project we expect top-tier music and once again he did not disappoint.
GNX was released on the early afternoon of November 22nd as a surprise drop with the only hint from Kendrick coming just minutes prior with a short video of one of the forthcoming songs on the project.
The name for the album comes from the 1987 Buick Regal model “GNX”, or “Grand National Experimental”, which Kendrick can be seen leaning up against on the cover of the project. It’s also worth noting this is his first project released with his own company, PGLang, and Interscope Records. He had previously departed from long time labels Top Dawg Entertainment and Aftermath Entertainment.
His last project, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, which released in 2022 was critically-acclaimed and won him rap album of the year at the 2023 Grammy’s. Many had been hoping to see when Lamar would release his next project, especially in the wake of his ongoing feud with Drake which peaked during the early summer of 2024 with the smash hit “Not Like Us”. There had been numerous rumors around the beginning of this fall that he could be dropping before year’s end. There was also a rumor, according to DJ Snake, that he would be featuring Taylor Swift on his next album. This proved to be not true as GNX came and went with mostly west coast artists on Kendrick’s feature list, further paying homage to his California roots.
For this review I will be rating GNX off of the artist’s performance, content, features, production, and replay value. So, each category will receive anywhere from a bad to perfect rating while I will also be giving the album a final assessment at the end.
Artist Performance - Amazing
Kendrick Lamar flat out delivered on his performance throughout this project. I could definitely feel an aggressive tone on most of the tracks and as a whole it almost felt like a “victory lap” approach. He was truly just having fun here and honestly, this was to be expected as it seems like everything has been going his way as of late. From delivering the final blow to Drake six months ago and earning the Super Bowl nod in New Orleans, Kendrick has had a 2024 to remember.
I saw his performance on this album as one of his most direct, especially compared to some his more deeper projects such as To Pimp A Butterfly and Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers. In fact, there were even some quirky performances on the album with “squabble up” and “peekaboo” but in general it was easy to focus as a listener on each line he delivered.
The main thing I want to focus on here is his flow on “reincarnated”, which is one of the biggest highlights for me on GNX. He sounded as aggressive as I’ve ever heard him sound before and his Tupac-esque flow on this track was a nice touch to honor the California legend. It felt like such an old school performance by Kendrick where he really put his heart and soul into the song.
Speaking of the energy on “reincarnated”, how about “tv off”? This was easily the most popular track on the album with an insane beat switch half way through the song. The popularity of it stemmed from a viral new tag from the producer Mustard.
There was really only one song that had me feeling bored and that was “dodger blue”. Kendrick had more of a monotone and sleepy performance here which made me lose a bit of interest during the track, but despite that hiccup his performance as a whole was one of the best of the year for a hip-hop artist.
Content - Amazing
This is the first Kendrick Lamar project that doesn’t have this overly elaborate concept and I could really tell that this was more of an ode to music and culture of the west coast, specifically California where Lamar hails from. Don’t get it twisted though, because we’re still getting these mind-blowing concepts from him throughout this project.
First, I want to jump into the opener again, “wacced out murals”, and go over the lyrics about Lil Wayne, because this was something that many interpreted as a diss towards him since Wayne has publicly expressed his disdain with not being selected to perform at the Super Bowl. Specifically the lines, “Used to bump Tha Carter III, I held my Rollie chain proud. Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down”, could be seen as a diss but in reality it’s really Kendrick just expressing disappointment in Wayne’s reaction to not being chosen. Another thing to consider here is that Kendrick has often said that Lil Wayne is one of his biggest influences and mentors, even referring to him as “the greatest”, so the disappointment theory seems to be what Kendrick was going for here.
Also, on “wacced out murals” Kendrick took what I would consider a friendly jab at Snoop Dogg for showing support to Drake’s “Taylor Made Freestyle”, which Kendrick jokingly said “I prayed it was the edibles” on this track. I say friendly because again like Lil Wayne, he has always had high regard for Snoop Dogg, even going as far as calling him a top five rapper of all time.
Now, I’ll continue to express my love for “reincarnated”, because the concept of the song made it a standout track for me. I mentioned the Tupac inspired flow earlier but looking at the second half of the song we see Kendrick having a conversation with God where he discusses having multiple past lives. You could tell he really wanted his audience to know that he has learned from his past mistakes and wants to use his music as an outlet to inspire and bring a certain level of understanding, especially towards the youth.
Furthermore, looking into the closer “gloria”, where the song is essentially a metaphor where Kendrick is writing a love letter to his pen. We’re getting double meanings and poetic lyrics from Lamar and SZA (who I’ll touch on in the features category). When he says “see paper”, this could mean both seeing money and the pen seeing paper. Also with “fabrication”, he could be referring to both lying and experiencing writer’s block. Just genius lyricism from Kendrick Lamar that I didn’t want to pass up on.
Finally, I want to look into “heart pt. 6” which is just a beautifully written story of his career, almost showcasing his gratitude towards those who molded him into the artist he is today. He talked about Ab-Soul and how he wanted to be as good, if not better, of a writer and even touched on the origins of him and Jay Rock and his relationship with Dave Free.
I’m going to say this right now… if every song was written like “reincarnated” and “heart pt. 6”, I genuinely would consider giving the content here a perfect rating. Those two tracks are just simply a masterclass in songwriting from beginning to end.
Features - Good
GNX featured ten different artists including SZA, Dody6, Lefty Gunplay, Wallie the Sensei, Siete7x, Roddy Ricch, AzChike, Hitta J3, YoungThreat, and Peysoh. With the exception of SZA and Roddy Ricch, all of the features were lesser known west coast artists who to the mainstream eye were not familiar names. I didn’t mind this personally, in fact I applaud Kendrick for going this route because for one they fit the theme of the album well, and two this gave them the opportunity to make a name for themselves with their respective performances on his project.
If you’re wondering who provided the intro vocals on “wacced out murals”, “reincarnated” and “gloria”, that’d be the mariachi singer Deyra Barrera. The story here is that Lamar actually discovered her while attending Game 1 of this year’s World Series when she was performing a tribute to former Dodger’s pitcher Fernando Valenzuela. Her distinct vocals were an unique addition to GNX and it goes to show that Kendrick has a great vision in finding talent.
Now, SZA… where do I begin? I’m almost at the point of just calling her a cheat code with the run she’s been on. She appeared on both “luther” and “gloria” where she delivered phenomenal verses with the back and forth on “luther” between her and Kendrick becoming a major highlight for me. Their chemistry is something that I’ve marveled for quite some time, dating back to their collaboration “All The Stars” on the Black Panther soundtrack. Then, looking at “gloria”, she delivered a beautiful hook, interlude, and outro that closed out the project in a perfect way. She is proving time and time again that she is the voice of the R&B genre.
Outside of SZA, solid verses from the other features were hard to come by but Dody6 came through with a good one to close out “hey now”. His cadence was pretty monotone but despite the tone, his flow was definitely on point. Overall, he had a nice performance considering the tough task of matching Kendrick’s energy on his verse. Also, I might be in the minority here but I didn’t mind Lefty Gunplay’s vocals on the outro of “tv off”.
Tracks like “dodger blue” and “gnx” were overall low lights for me on the album and this was mainly because of the features. Both tracks had three features each and they just felt too busy to me. “dodger blue” for instance could have benefitted from just the smooth vocals of Roddy Ricch.
Again, I respect the inclusion of the west coast from Kendrick, but SZA carried this feature list to the good rating it received from me.
Production - Great
GNX’s production was primarily handled by Sounwave, with Jack Antonoff and DJ Mustard playing significant roles as well. Mustard’s sound was prominent throughout the album which was to be expected considering the success of their recent collaborations (most notably “Not Like Us”).
Again the sound here is largely west coast-inspired with up-tempo beats, Cali bounce, and G-Funk influences. There was also a good deal of progressive and contemporary production from Mustard and of course the sampling on this project was incredible as well which when done right is always pleasing to hear as a listener.
How about the production on “tv off” though? The beat is absolutely nuts and the “Mustard horns” he provided us with might just be becoming his trademark. I mentioned the viral Mustard tag already, but the beat switch leading into it went crazy as well.
“wacced out murals” just might have been the best produced song on GNX with how menacing and dark it sounded which again—made for the perfect introduction. I also saw the sound as the creation of a sense of urgency and it clearly showcases Kendrick’s readiness to “play”. Speaking of chilling sound, “reincarnated” had that same feeling and was another highlight on the production front for me.
Despite some beats not being totally well-produced (such as “gnx” and it’s poorly timed drums), the album still had great production and exciting sound overall.
Replay Value - Amazing
The replay value here has amazing potential with the key reason here being how concise the project is. GNX is 12 songs with just 44 minutes of runtime, with essentially no bloat which will contribute well to what should be a timeless tracklist.
I say timeless because that’s exactly what music Lamar creates. If you look it all of his past albums like good kid, m.A.A.d. city, To Pimp A Butterfly, and DAMN., they’re classics that have stood the test of time.
GNX will absolutely be remembered for it’s association with Kendrick’s “MVP” run and his feud with Drake, but there are also plenty of songs that feel separate from the context and can/will be valued outside of it. Also, if anything this album should shut up any of the people who think Kendrick Lamar can’t create bangers and only makes “boring music” (which is preposterous in its own right).
Finally, I want to emphasize how accessible this album is (in terms of his writing), especially for newer fans getting into Kendrick. It’s an easy project to “get” or understand with how the concept is laid out in contrast to something like To Pimp A Butterfly or Section.80 where the concept is more tightly woven.
Final Score - Amazing
With the fourth quarter of 2024 winding down, Kendrick delivered an album of the year contender right into our arms. This was a victory lap of epic proportions for him and I was glad I got to listen to a brand new side of him with his sixth album.
There’s no doubt in my mind that GNX is an amazing album… however, it is still the weakest album Kendrick Lamar has released to date—and that’s not because there isn’t this grand or conceptual masterpiece at play.
I think with this project he’s being more reckless and, like I mentioned before he’s just having fun, which is fine with me. It plays as more of a mixtape and it almost feels like a warm up for something more. In fact, I would not be surprised if we see another Kendrick Lamar project in 2025—so stay tuned…