GNX - Kendrick Lamar: Review

 

Kendrick Lamar

is a rapper who really needs no introduction. After serving up some of the most acclaimed albums of the entire 2010s like To Pimp A Butterfly and Good Kid m.A.A.d City, he took a break for the last few years of the decade and the COVID pandemic. But since then he's returned in a massive way. It began with a series of acclaimed collaborations with his cousin Baby Keem, the much-discussed "The Heart Part V" became the table setter for one of the most discoursed-about albums of the 2020s so far, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. And Kendrick spent much of this year embroiled in a back and forth rap beef with Drake, one he's widely seen as having won with his hit song "Not Like Us." 

And that brings us to GNX, a surprise album that arrived to the surprise of all Kendrick's fans, and allegedly his label as well, on a Friday morning in late November. At 12 tracks spanning 45 minutes the album isn't exactly slim, but it's his least conceptual release in well over a decade. Though that focus was never holding him back from making great work, GNX still feels like a victory lap that shows off his immense talents in an entirely new light. 

So let's start with the downsides, almost every time Kendrick's own talent is taken out of the spotlight. This even applies to some of the record's highlights. "luther" is a solid track earlier on the record that features SZA and serves up a more R&B-flavored sound. It's a fine track with some slick sampling and the pair's chemistry is as tight as ever, but for the duo that made "Doves In The Wind" this is just okay. "hey now" is another good track where Kendrick doesn't bother much with the frills and puts his head down delivering bars from almost the very first note. I love the distant cracking in the instrumental it feels like a quieter version of something Clipping would rap over. At the end Kendrick goes back to back with Dody6 who starts off strong, but by the end of the song his sloppy flows start to catch up with him for a slightly deflating ending. 

Later on the record it starts to become more of an issue. "peekaboo" is a song-length exercise in repetition. The hook is fine and does subtle things to make Kendrick's performance stickier plus he has more than enough charisma to carry his verses. Unfortunately, AzChike has the rough job of following him up and the difference in ability is very obvious. The worst example and worst song on the album is "gnx" a posse cut with a great hook from Kendrick himself. But WOW are the features here rough. Not only are they very obviously ripping off the cadences and flows of other rappers but the thematic content is nowhere near as focused as throughout the rest of the record. It's an interesting idea conceptually but the execution is kind of a disaster. 

Elsewhere on the record, however, there are features put to better use. It's subtle but the chorus of "dodger blue" deploys some guest vocals and is fittingly soaked in the sound and style of LA. Even though it's relatively short Kendrick certainly manages to stay laser-focused on tributing his home city. Lefty Gunplay features on the outro of "tv off" one of the best songs on the record and the most talked about for Kendrick's viral "MUSTARD" scream. But the song is so much more than that with an ultra-smooth first half featuring clinical flow switch-ups and memorable lyrics throughout. The second half features a west coast flavor reminiscent of "Not Like Us" alongside the song's namesake on a killer hook. 

SZA makes a second appearance on the closing track "gloria" one of the warmest songs on the record. Kendrick's gentle verses go great with SZA's hook but her best appearances are on the song's outro and a memorable vocal snippet right in the middle. The love song is in stark contrast to how the album starts on "wacced out murals." It's such a confrontational way to get the album going with a muttering sparse beat and Kendrick skewering his opponents and dishing out pessimistic advice with cutthroat authority. 

In between these two tracks whenever Kendrick allows himself to engage with his own storytelling prowess the results are pretty much flawless. "squabble up" is the track that made a memorable appearance at the start of the "Not Like Us" music video and it's as playful and hard-hitting as anyone could hope for. The album's first real masterpiece is "man at the garden" what a fucking song. It has this incredibly sparse beat with Kendrick repeating the phrase "I deserve it all" as he rattles off all the spoils he thinks he's earned. The real kicked is the final minute of the song where he ups the tempo and intensity and layers in his own backing vocals to cascade to a climax. When he returns to the repetition afterwards it feels even heavier. 

"reincarnated" is one of the most intense moments on the album where Kendrick puts himself into the shoes of artists from the past that he sees himself in. This goes some fascinatingly dark thematic places like the perils of drug addiction and the machine of the music industry. It concludes with this really interesting back-and-forth between Kendrick and his own inner monologue that is absolutely entrancing. Finally, there's "heart pt. 6" the most directly narrative-driven song on the album. It begins with the early days of Top Dawg Entertainment as Kendrick details his grind to make it in the rap game alongside collaborators like Ab-Soul and Jay Rock. He eventually eclipses that era entirely, taking blame for the abandonment of Black Hippy and reaching all the way to the current day discussing the tools he's needed to come this far. It's another moment of insight and vulnerability in a career that has been defined by those very qualities. 

GNX is great. In one breath, Kendrick has untethered himself from the kind of narrative throughlines and overarching themes that have defined basically all of his albums this far. But that allows him to go into even more articulate detail on specific stories with interesting and varied thematic framing throughout this record. Though the music may be far more approachable than its predecessors, GNX is no less thoughtful in its execution. What results is an album that feels like a victory lap in only the way Kendrick Lamar would do it, facing down his flaws, foes, and the challenges he's faced along the way and fully embodying the fact that he's overcome all of them. 8/10

For more hip hop check out my review of Tyler, The Creator's CHROMAKOPIA