On November 22, Kendrick Lamar surprised the world when, out of nowhere, he released his new album GNX. This album took a far different approach than his last albums, with less of a concept and more of a powerful punch, which means that you won’t have to listen to it more than 30 times to get the bigger picture. With a surprisingly short runtime of just 44 minutes, we’ll dive into each track on this album and discuss the highs and lows.
“wacced out murals”: This intro track is a contender for the most meaningful track on the album, possibly behind “gloria.” The song dives into topics such as Kendrick’s beef with Drake and his being selected to perform at the Super Bowl. Stating, “Won the Super Bowl and only Nas congratulate me” and, “Used to bump Tha Carter III, I held my rollie chain proud / Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down.” This references the decision to have Kendrick perform instead of Lil Wayne at the super bowl. Kendrick also states, “F*ck a double entendre, I want y’all to feel this sh*t,” which sets the tone for what will be a louder and more party-like album compared to Kendrick’s last few works.
“squabble up”: This track is most known for including the snippet shown at the beginning of the “Not Like Us” music video. The song’s production is very powerful, with a sample from “When I Hear Music” by Debbie Deb. Accompanied by a fantastic music video released November 25, many people (including myself) rate this song very high.
“luther (feat. SZA)”: The SZA feature on GNX was chosen perfectly. With amazing singing performances from both artists, this track is great music for winding down or sleeping. This is the song with the most musical value on the album with the piano at the beginning and SZA’s calming voice. The sample on this song is “If This World Were Mine” by Luther Vandross, which fits the track so well as it matches the calming vibe. I would say this is the third or fourth best song on the album.
“man at the garden”: This track is a stark contrast to “luther.” The somber and reflective tone is shown very well throughout, as Kendick expresses why he should be considered the greatest of all time, repeatedly saying “I deserve it all.”
“reincarnated”: This song features Kendrick rapping over a Tupac beat. This song can be interpreted many different ways, but at its core it’s about trauma and how it has impacted Kendrick’s music. The ending of the song paints a vivid picture of Kendrick talking to his father. As with the song, this ending verse could be interpreted many ways, but I view it as him attempting to finally gain the respect from his father that he desired for so long. His father, however, is resistant. Kendrick says “Father, did I finally get it right?” and his father pushes back with, “Son, you do well, but your heart is closed.” Kendrick then continually says everything he has done right to his father, one of them being “I’m tryna push peace in L.A.,” as his father responds, “But you love war.” Putting aside the powerful storytelling and lyrical value this song has, the beat is so good you almost don’t notice the lyrics at all.
“tv off”: This is the best song on the album. The DJ Mustard production makes it similar to “Not Like Us,” but it hits far harder. The phrase “turn this TV off” is a euphemism for shooting someone, as the trigger of a gun is similar to a power button on a remote. Other than that, there isn’t much to talk about lyrically with this song. The absolute peak of the album is shown in the middle when Kendrick screams “MUSTARD” at the top of his lungs after the DJ Mustard producer tag. That part of the song is easily the best part of the album, no question.
“heart part 6”: This is very close to being the best song on the album. The long awaited next installment of the Heart series has one of the best samples on the album, from “Use Your Heart” by SWV, produced by Pharrell Williams. The Heart series is a fantastic way to see Kendrick’s evolution throughout his career, as it shows his constantly evolving mindset and art style. In this song, Kendrick goes back to the beginning of his career, referencing him and Jay Rock signing to Top Dawg Entertainment, saying, “Jay Rock signed, I felt like we all made it.” Kendrick also is very critical of himself, saying that it is his fault that his group Black Hippy disbanded, expressing how his desire to move forward creatively didn’t align with the rest of the group’s desires. Saying, “I jog my memory, knowing Black Hippy didn’t work because of me / Creatively, I moved on with new concepts in reach” Overall, this song is a must-listen on the album.
“gnx (Feat. Hitta j3, Youngthreat, and Peysoh)”: Despite my opinion that this title track is the worst song on the album, it isn’t half bad. The reason I think it isn’t as strong as the other songs is mostly because of the forgettable production. There isn’t much variation with it, as it’s just the same couple of notes playing over and over again. The features aren’t all that great either, as Peysoh’s voice doesn’t fit the song whatsoever. The other features are fine, but forgettable, like the song.
“gloria (Feat. SZA)” : This song begins with Kendrick telling a story about his girlfriend, talking about how close the relationship between them is, but also how many times he wants to step away and go on to new things, as SZA sings, “Scared of forever” in the chorus. At the very end of the song, Kendrick twists everything by saying that the song wasn’t about his girlfriend, but about his pen the entire time. The song conveys how writing music helped him get through rough times in his life, saying “Remember when Granny died? You looked at me and said, ‘Baby, dry your eyes.’” The meaning of this song is so powerful that I would rate this song as one of the strongest on the album.
In the end, this album is a fantastic show of the things Kendrick Lamar is capable of. He can create hype party songs but also tracks that mess with your head in ways you never thought possible. While not his best work in my opinion, I would rank GNX high on Kendrick’s current discography. Many people, including myself, are very excited to see what he can come up with in the future.