US rapper Kendrick Lamar performs during the 2023 Governors Ball Music Festival at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in New York City. Rap superstar Kendrick Lamar surprised fans on November 22, 2024 with the unannounced release of a 12-track album. — Photo by Yuki IWAMURA / AFP
Rap superstar Kendrick Lamar surprised fans on Friday with the unannounced release of a 12-track album.
GNX, the performer's sixth studio album, appeared on streaming services without fanfare at midday on the US East Coast (1700 GMT).
The offering from the 37-year-old comes at the end of a year that has seen his music fuelled by a feud with Drake, a spat that produced some of the year's biggest hits.
One of them, Lamar's Not Like Us, grabbed the top spot on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and garnered him a number of Grammy nominations for next year's gala.
GNX is the first album from Lamar since his mega-selling Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers in 2022, which itself came after a five-year wait.
Friday's release is timely for an artiste who will headline the Super Bowl halftime show in February, a coveted showcase that takes place in the middle of the NFL season finale, which is routinely watched by around a third of Americans. – AFP
