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GNX: LA's Latest Victory Lap
By Ian Sherry
12/10/2024
On 11/22/2024, Kendrick Lamar released his 6th studio album, GNX.
Kendrick has been a very busy man. In the months leading up to the release of GNX Lamar returned to the public eye, challenged and disposed of Drake, held a historic concert showcasing unity in LA’s Hip-Hop scene, and was named the halftime performer for Super Bowl LXI. Riding that wave, he dropped this record.
More than any other record this year, GNX is impossible to separate from its context. It is and always will be the record that came after the Drake feud. While Lamar tastefully refrained from including any of the diss tracks, he brought the most important spoils of his mudslinging war to this record: the sound that took “Not Like Us” to no. 1 and the local scene he stood up for. Neither was guaranteed, but in the end they accounted for his most spirited top-to-bottom performance since TPAB.
The stylistic discoveries Lamar made following Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers have completely reinvigorated my enthusiasm for his music. His 2022 record hit the right critical spots and had a passable share of highlights, but the stylistic persona he put forth in his return from a 5 year absence felt safe, as if that time away left him tight and self-limiting. GNX is anything but.
“wacced out murals”, while it's a bit lengthy for an intro track does a great job of introducing Kendrick Lamar’s latest vocal persona. Using audible restraint to create breathier cadences, Lamar is able to build tension and excitement with his words without expending a lot of energy. It’s a skill that Pusha T enlists so that his audience hangs on every word and his lyrics cut deep. Now Lamar can do the same, but with the added advantage that he has more in the musical tank. Here’s what I mean track 6, “reincarnated”, is the album’s most intense track. Lamar’s most conceptual exercise of the record attempts to place him in the shoes of his past lives in order to critique the choices they made and the extent to which they used their gifts. A demanding undertaking like that requires performative chops and an energy level he’d yet to exert through 5 songs, so when he screamed ‘REINCARNATED’, the track popped the way he clearly intended it to.
Energy isn’t the only performative improvement Lamar made on this record, his package of flows and cadences has gotten as strong as ever. Evidenced by his recent feature work, take Beyonce’s “AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM” or Baby Keem’s “family ties”, Kendrick has been expanding his bag of flows and that process was only accelerated by the creative flurry that Drake brought upon himself. At this point it feels safe to say Lamar’s days of somewhat regularly defaulting to well-worded but averagely-performed verses are over (RIP 2017-2022). Look at “hey now”, Lamar hops on one of the two Mustard beats on the record and dominates with career-best confidence and charisma fueling a generous display of the many entertaining flows he’s accumulated. While "tv off" and "peekaboo" are the next best displays of pure spitting, nearly every track on this LP brings something vocally fresh to the table, and the impact that consistently entertaining performances have on an assorted album like this is invaluable.
In addition to the variety of vocal projection Kendrick Lamar brought to GNX, his production has been retooled as well. In his departure from Top Dawg Entertainment production personnel was bound to change to an extent, but what I didn’t expect was to see Jack Antanoff’s name on every track. The current king of pop production is a fellow Grammy darling, and his influence on GNX is clearest in the cleanliness and atmospheric aspects of the record. My initial reaction was my usual anti-mainstream gag reflex, but upon listening I can see how Antanoff’s capabilities could contribute to the gloomy feel that makes “reincarnated” and “heart pt. 6” effective and the pop factor needed to elevate "Luther" to one of the album's most popular songs. Given, Antanoff also contributed to some of the pop-sensible misses like “men at the garden” (which sounds like DAMN and Mr. Morale had a really ugly baby), the boring “dodger blue”, and the chivalrous but misplaced last track “gloria”, his versatility will still go down as a positive influence on this record because ultimately it allowed for Lamar’s successful plunge back into the west coast.
As his career progresses, Lamar feels increasingly calculated in who he chooses to associate with, but not since 2016 have I heard Lamar thrive in the West Coast bounce like he does on GNX. He made a point of it. He filled his feature list with newer names from the greater LA/Compton scene (Dody6, Lefty Gunplay, Wallie the Sensei, Siete7x, AzChike, Hitta J3, YoungThreat, Peysoh, even Roddy Rich), and the pop-star cleanliness Lamar lent to his raw but hungry guest artists left them in their best form. Combine that with the long-time collaborator Sounwave’s presence on every track and you’ve got a musically holistic homecoming for Lamar (with SZA in tow).
While there are moments throughout the record that carry that West Coast aroma - take the Eminem/D12-like chorus on “hey now” or constant remnants of Black Hippy in his music - I really knew LA was present the moment “squabble up” began. The unique blend of 2000s club-tinged g-funk is ridiculously catchy. Imagine a YG song with the sonic layering and atmospheric control Lamar fans are accustomed to, plus the synth performance of a true techno madman. It's the kind of song I wasn’t sure Lamar could make after his last project - the kind of song that makes you wonder what else he could possibly do.
I saw criticisms of Lamar as a person in regards to this record - complaints that his narrative has become too self-indulgent since his feud with Drake making this braggadocious record difficult to swallow. Personally I disagree. While it can be enticing to think of an artist as someone you know based on the extensive material they’ve presented, the truth is you really don’t. The introspective Kendrick Lamar persona we know has been as much of a product as his music. It makes sense that the public persona of the artist would change in tandem with their newest product. Therefore, it also makes sense that following the most substantially publicized victory of his career he would release a sort of victory lap record. It is not a reflection of his character or ego as much as it is the logical next step in an increasingly lengthy career that has rightfully resulted in his superstardom.
This record is not his best, nor is it his worst. A smaller undertaking than Kendrick’s all-time great concept albums of the 2010s, GNX had a lower ceiling to begin with, however, he still packed the record with a variety of new creative angles. Aside from creating the ever-elusive flawless tracklist, cultivating a variously entertaining and passably cohesive group of songs is the ultimate goal of any record that focuses on the collection of songs rather than a core concept. By that measure GNX is a success. It’s also a success as it exists in the world. The album’s reception can be just as important as its content, and the exposure he brought not only to his features but to that g-funk sound might be what I love most about the record.
GNX is a 8.6.