- Source: GNX (album)
GNX is the sixth studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released as a surprise album through PGLang and Interscope Records on November 22, 2024. Titled after the Buick Regal model, and a follow-up to Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022), GNX is Lamar's first album after his departure from longtime labels Top Dawg Entertainment and Aftermath Entertainment.
Lamar and Dave Free executive produced the album, which features appearances from AzChike, Dody6, Hitta J3, Peysoh, Roddy Ricch, Siete7x, SZA, Wallie the Sensei, and YoungThreat; Deyra Barrera, Sam Dew, and Ink provide additional vocal contributions throughout. Production was primarily handled by Sounwave and Jack Antonoff, with additional work by Mustard, Sean Momberger, and Kamasi Washington, among others.
Background
Kendrick Lamar released his fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, on May 13, 2022, to critical and commercial success. After concluding its accompanying concert tour in March 2024, Lamar shared on social media that he purchased a vintage, limited-run 1987 Buick Grand National Experimental (GNX), the same model that his father used to take him home from the hospital following his birth.
Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers was Lamar's last album with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), to which he had signed in 2005. Before his feud with Canadian rapper Drake re-escalated, he quietly departed from Aftermath Entertainment and signed a direct licensing agreement with its distributor, Interscope Records. Lamar released five standalone singles during the latest installment of their conflict, including the Billboard Hot 100-toppers "Like That" and "Not Like Us". The rapper teased a then-untitled song in the beginning of the music video for the latter. Entertainment Weekly observed its inclusion and fan speculation that it could be included in his next album; the song was revealed to be "Squabble Up".
Rumors surrounding Lamar's forthcoming album began to emerge, with some being denied by close affiliates. After announcing that he was chosen as the headlining act for the Super Bowl LIX halftime show, Lamar surprise released "Watch the Party Die" on his Instagram account. Rolling Stone said that the track bodes well for his next album–"whenever it comes." Dazed, on the other hand, predicted that he was gearing up for an "astronomical" era. By October, Lamar's longtime collaborators Terrace Martin, SZA, and Schoolboy Q confirmed that he would be releasing new music.
Songs and composition
GNX consists of 12 songs and has a running time of 44 minutes and 20 seconds; the shortest studio album of Lamar's career. Although no tracks from his feud with Drake are included, its sentiment "still looms over the album", according to Vulture.
Mexican singer Deyra Barrera is featured on both opening and closing tracks of the album, as well as in "Reincarnated", after Lamar saw the singer perform at a Los Angeles Dodgers game. The production team played Barrera the instrumentation arrangements, and gave her a description of the emotions Lamar wanted to evoke throughout the album. "Reincarnated" sees Lamar present himself in imagined past lives before the lyrics transition to him having a conversation with God. "TV Off" features "clipped strings" that "dissolve into Viking-berserker horns" halfway through; Lamar repeatedly screams Mustard's name on the chorus. On "Heart Pt. 6", he recounts his history with TDE and the supergroup Black Hippy, acknowledging his role in the group falling apart due to creative differences. Ben Sisaro of The New York Times noted that it is an "implicit rejoinder" to Drake's diss track of the same name, which in itself was taken from Lamar's "The Heart" song series. The title track, "GNX", is a posse cut with Los Angeles rappers Peysoh, Hitta J3 and YoungThreat. Lamar does not have a verse, instead providing a hook questioning "who put the West back in front of shit?"
Promotion and release
On November 22, 2024, Lamar unexpectedly premiered a one-minute teaser for GNX on YouTube. The album was surprise released through PGLang and Interscope 30 minutes later.
Critical reception
Tom Breihan of Stereogum referred to the album as "the best album of 2024 and the greatest work of Kendrick Lamar's career," praising its production and the rapper's vocal performances. In a positive review for The Line of Best Fit, Matthew Kim described it as "a concise statement of regional pride, braggadocio, and non-conformity", crediting Jack Antonoff's production for making the album feel "lush and expansive".
Track listing
Notes
^[a] signifies an additional producer
All tracks are stylized in lower case.
"Peekaboo" features uncredited vocals from Dody6.
Sample credits
"Squabble Up" contains a sample of "When I Hear Music", as written and performed by Debbie Deb.
"Luther" contains a sample of "If This World Were Mine", written by Marvin Gaye, as performed by Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn.
"Reincarnated" contains a sample of "Made Niggaz", written and performed by Tupac Shakur featuring Outlawz.
"Heart Pt. 6" contains a sample of "Use Your Heart", written by Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams, as performed by SWV.
Personnel
Credits adapted from album liner notes.
Musicians
Technical
Ruairi O'Flaherty – mastering
Oli Jacobs – mixing, engineering
Jack Antonoff – engineering
Johnathan Turner – engineering
Laura Sisk – engineering
Ray Charles Brown Jr. – engineering
Tony Shepperd – engineering (track 3)
Tony Austin – engineering (track 7)
Zem Audu – engineering (track 7)
References
[[Category:Albums produced by
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Balawan
- GNX (album)
- GNX (disambiguation)
- Buick Regal
- Squabble Up
- Wacced Out Murals
- Gloria
- List of 2024 albums
- Kendrick Lamar
- Reincarnated
- The Heart Part 6
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