No one in hip-hop can make the world stop quite like Kendrick Lamar. Fans got a reminder of his gravity when he dropped his latest album, GNX, earlier today.
Checking in at a dense 44 minutes, the new LP arrives about seven months after he previously stopped time with “Not Like Us,” a Drake diss track that became iconic shortly after its release. Coated in layered rhymes, playful cadences and sprawling West Coast flavors, it’s an album that builds on the vibes of his Grammy-nominated single. And all it takes is a cursory look through the lyrics to see it’s just as fiery.
As is always the case with a Kendrick release, there’s a lot to unpack here. So, let’s open the trunk and get to it. Here are Okayplayer’s 10 biggest takeaways from Kendrick’s new GNX album.
It’s Extremely West Coast
Rap fans have often talked about how less regional rap has gotten thanks to the internet, but it’s clear here that Kendrick is offering something very West Coast with this release. And it goes beyond hip-hop; he’s even got guest spots from Deyra Barrera, a Los Angeles-based mariachi singer and appears on “Wacced Out Murals,” “Reincarnated” and “Gloria.”
Whether it’s a hyphy-inflected soundscape, a Drakeo The Ruler-esque flow or guest spots from regional acts like AzChike, Roddy Ricch, Lefty Gunplay, Hitta J3 and more, Kendrick weaves his way through various parts of the California rap diaspora. It all plays out like a 44-minute version of the Pop Out. While he makes some extended commentary directed at Drake and Canada’s comparative lack of rap history, he keeps things focused on his Coast instead, championing Cali hip-hop — its past, present and future.
Jack Antonoff Is All Over this Album
You wouldn’t be crazy for thinking Kendrick’s “6:16 in LA” was the hardest beat to emerge from the whole Rap World War last spring. You might be a little on one if you expected it to be co-produced by Taylor Swift’s go-to producer. You’d also be right. Alongside Sounwave, Jack Antonoff produced the pensive soul beat, and he returns for GNX, where they lay out some serious heat.
The tracks here are simultaneously sleek, pummeling, and cinematic, stark departures from the dreamier offerings Antonoff’s accustomed to getting off on tracks like Taylor Swift’s “Antihero.” Just check out “Squabble Up” to see what I’m talking about. While his Kendrick collabs might seem random, they apparently aren’t; Antonoff is actually part of a group with Sam Dew and Sounwave. It’s called Red Hearse. It’s unclear how much Antonoff produced versus Sounwave — they’re listed as co-producers on these tracks. Still, it’s pretty cool, and unexpected.
Bangers Aplenty
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers had some slaps, but this one, as intense as it is, provides a barrage of anthems his previous LP didn’t. “Squabble Up” and “Peakaboo” aren’t quite “Not Like Us,” but they’re going to find comfortable slots near the top of that Billboard Hot 100 chart next week. Also: don’t be surprised if we see a surge of hyphy-adjacent raps heading into 2025. The West Coast is about to eat once again.
– YouTubewww.youtube.com
He Remains the Petty King
Right from the beginning, Kendrick makes it clear he’s not a huge fan of the whole, “let bygones be bygones” thing, reclaiming his Petty Crown with some ferocious bars on GNX opener, “Wacced Out Murals”: “I’ll never peace it up; that sh*t don’t sit well with me / Before I take a truce, I’ll take em to hell with me.” He’s likely talking to Drake — and he seems to suggest that “ole boy” tried to bribe Kendrick’s friends with bitcoin in order to get information about Kendrick. But broadly speaking, it comes off as an “anyone can get it” sentiment. But he does take time to come at some folks by name.
Referencing the recent Lil Wayne-Super Bowl drama, Kendrick pokes fun at Weezy for saying the New Orleans halftime performance was “ripped away” from him: “Used to bump Tha Carter III, I held my Rollie chain proud/Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down.” Ouch.
But it didn’t end there. Just bars later, he had words for Uncle Snoop, too, calling out his fellow West Coast legend for reposting Drake’s Kendrick diss, “Taylor Made Freestyle.” If you recall, the track saw Drizzy use AI to rap in Snoop and 2Pac’s voices. And yeah. Kung Fu Kenny wasn’t feeling Snoop’s apparent amusement, and he made an appropriately snarky weed joke to make his point: “Snoop posted “Taylor Made,” I prayed it was the edibles/I couldn’t believe it, it was only right for me to let it go.”
For his part, Snoop served up a prompt response on X. Check it out for yourself below.
He’s Got Smoke for Rappers — and Outsiders
It’s clear that Kendrick is past letting rappers off the hook when it comes to beef, but make no mistake, he’s got smoke for folks outside the culture, too — namely, those who would try to disrespect it. That also starts at the very beginning of the album. Just check out “Wacced Out Murals,” which includes an apparent reference to comedian Andrew Shulz’s tasteless and unfunny podcast remarks about Black women: “Don’t let no white comedian talk about no Black woman, that’s law.”
The bar, which evokes the same sort of condescending lesson plan Kendrick doled out to Drake on “Meet The Grahams,” also nods to the Black episode guests failing to step up and condemn Shulz’s remarks. So yeah. Kendrick wasn’t having it, and he stands as perhaps the only rapper to address the situation on a song.
– YouTubewww.youtube.com
He’s Still Spraying Righteous Venom at Rap Culture
Whatever happened between DAMN. and Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers clearly left a mark on Kendrick’s artistry. You can see it in the spurts of, should I say, righteous venom sprayed at rappers any and everywhere. On “Wacced Out Murals” he takes time to preach the virtues of monogamy while calling out the hip-hop community, their “parties” (a potential reference to Diddy, others), and other avenues for overall weakness. He doesn’t do this every track, but it’s definitely a recurrent theme.
This One Wasn’t About Numbers
Look, no one hates saying stuff like, “he did this for the art” more than me, but it’s clear Kendrick wasn’t bag-chasing or awards-hounding with this one. If he were, he would’ve included a few more high-profile guest artists instead of the local Los Angeles acts he put on the LP. Oh, and he also would’ve made sure “Euphoria” and “Not Like Us” were on it — even as bonus tracks. Both songs have collected hundreds of millions of streams and will surely be certified multiplatinum whenever PG Lang and the RIAA decide to get around to it.
GNX is all about Kendrick doing what he wanted to do, which is apparently a whole bunch of West Coast flowing, California celebrating, and a ton of personal reflection. And ample shit talking. If this one goes multiplatinum — which it will — it’s just a bonus.
He’s Having A Lot of Fun
Put the hatred aside, and it’s very obvious that Kendrick is having so much fun rapping. The way he’s playing around with cadences and enunciating certain phrases speaks to kinetic spontaneity that adds phonetic thrills to every syllable. There are moments throughout this project (“Hey Now” throughout and that “Hey, hey, hey, hey” line from “Peekaboo”) where you can’t help but laugh, evoking the same reaction many fans had when they first heard him utter “brother” on “Family Ties.” Gemini energy is best served with a side of wit — something that Kendrick clearly gets.
He Takes Influence From the GOATs
On “Reincarnation,” Kendrick doesn’t just sample 2Pac’s “Made Niggaz” — he mimics his cadence and vocal inflections, offering up a delivery that’s undeniably reminiscent of the beloved rapper. Dare I say it’s like ’Pac’s been — [gasps] — reincarnated! But 2Pac isn’t the only rap legend Kendrick channels on GNX. “Men at the Garden” has Nas’ “One Mic” graffiti’d all over it, and “Gloria” is a cousin of “I Gave You Power,” with Nas’ personified gun replaced by Kendrick’s pen.
– YouTubewww.youtube.com
He Gives Closure for His TDE Era
It’s not too often we get closure in this cruel world we’re living in, so it was cool to see Kendrick provide us some on “heart pt. 6,” which sees him reflect on his stint with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE)) and Black Hippy, the group composed of himself, Ab-Soul, Jay-Rock and ScHoolboy Q. After becoming a superstar with the label — one he’d been with since the early 2000s — Kendrick left TDE after releasing Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers in 2022, operating through his own label, PG Lang, and Interscope Records ever since.
His departure essentially crushed the hopes of fans still waiting for a Black Hippy album, a fact Kendrick admits to on “heart pt. 6”: “I jog my memory, knowin’ Black Hippy didn’t work ’cause of me/Creatively, I moved on with new concepts in reach.”
In itself, the admission is refreshing and thoughtful. And yet, that moment isn’t as important as his tender memories of those early TDE studio sessions, where Kendrick sounds genuinely in awe of the artists he’d soon surpass.