Kendrick Lamar’s GNX Album is Just What We Needed
On November 22, 2024 Kendrick Lamar surprise dropped his sixth studio album titled GNX – and the internet went crazy. And it was right on time coming off the heels of a brutal election cycle with results that have many questioning (or confirming) their place in the United States. For many, morale has been down. However, the surprise release from Mr. Morale himself gave millions of music listeners, regardless of political affiliation (or the lack thereof), something to galvanize around, and appreciate, at a time when the holiday season wasn’t feeling so great.
Unless you have been living under a rock, or more pointedly, you don’t pay attention to hip-hop (or certain aspects of pop) culture, then you have heard about the beef between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake that went to epic heights this past Spring. The back and forth diss track drops by both Kendrick and Drake had the internet in a chokehold analyzing every bar of every song that was released in the short span of just a month and a half. Some said the battle put hip hop back on the map; while some said the battle hurt hip hop. Nonetheless, following Kendrick’s decisive victory, there was soon an announcement about Kendrick being tapped as the headliner for Super Bowl LIX that will be held in New Orleans in 2025. And not everyone was happy. Nonetheless, anticipation increased for what Kendrick had in store leading up to the Super Bowl. For now – that anticipation has been fulfilled.
In short succession, YouTube videos about the album have been uploaded, articles ranking the songs on the album have been published, and the number of streams and album sales have been published. Even über Podders (pod casters) like Joe Budden changed their show in real-time to react to the release of the album.
GNX is layered. For starters, the album title has a backstory and meaning by referencing a model of a car once produced by American automaker, Buick. (Personally, I was hoping that GNX was referring to Generation X --- my generation --- since we tend to be left out of the generation conversation. But, I digress). The album contains another Drake diss track, “6:16 in LA,” which was produced by long-time Taylor Swift collaborator and producer, Jack Antonoff. This particular diss is a co-opting of Drake’s continuous theme of using time and location stamps in some of his songs. This is in direct response to Kendrick reclaiming “The Heart Pt. 6” Kendrick’s theme of naming certain songs as “The Heart” that Drake tried to co-op during their rap battle.
Also on the album, there’s a mention of Kendrick’s upcoming Super Bowl Half Time performance tht upset New Orleans artist, Lil’ Wayne, (who helped usher Drake to new heights by supporting and mentoring him early on in his career). Kendrick also reflects on his career and what he feels he deserves on the track “Man at the Garden” who many think is a connection to Nas’ “One Mic.” Sonically, I heard a connection to Everything But the Girl’s “Single,” from their Walking Wounded album.
All this that Kendrick Lamar’s GNX offers is what us music lovers, lovers of hip-hop, lovers of pop culture love to dive into. It gives us a pleasurable distraction from the world around us, even though this art is also part of the world in which we live.
There is a large number of people who enjoy music. And there are a portion of those people who really love listening to music. We music lovers wait for our favorite artists to drop new music; we explore our friends’ music playlists; we watch music videos (yes, they are still being made); and we go to concerts and music festivals on a regular basis. For a moment, we music lovers disappear into a song or an entire album listening to the music, the lyrics, and the overall vibe. It’s a time for us to escape into a world that’s been created for us to enjoy (and analyze ad nauseam).
Kendrick’s GNX has been a great distraction from the exhaustion and weight that some of us have been feeling. Yet, Kendrick, in usual Kendrick fashion, gives us something to think about when it comes to our lives, Black culture, the United States, financial aspirations, our relationships with our loved ones and community – things that are not a distraction, but things we are all concerned with – including those who don’t share our same political views.