Keeping the same energy of his landmark Pop Out concert five months ago, Lamar surrounds himself with up-and-coming Los Angeles artists - from AzChike to Peysoh - and raps over thumping New West Coast soundscapes shaped by his longtime producer Sounwave, along with Jack Antonoff and a garageful of other beat mechanics. He’s once again possessed by a spirit, sprinkling 2Pac, Biggie and Nas references throughout and maintaining a me-against-the-world antipathy that includes but extends well beyond a certain Canadian: "I just strangled me a GOAT" and "now it’s plural".
Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Andrew Schulz, and even Fox’s Super Bowl broadcast can’t escape K-Dot’s chaotic crosshairs. Here’s hoping the chorus of "tv off" - an urgent call to "turn this TV off" repeated eight times - confuses the masses during his New Orleans halftime show in February.
This is Lamar leaning into the same creativity-juicing pride, self-righteous anger and supreme confidence that fueled the Grammy-nominated Not Like Us and won his Drake feud: "I kill ‘em all before I let ‘em kill my joy". And yet, as with his first-ever hit Swimming Pools (Drank), even the most club-ready braggadocio songs - and there are plenty, including the massive squabble up and synth-stabbed Mustard production hey now - are slapped with a caution sticker. Introspection is baked into Lamar’s art. In man at the garden, he’s surveying his kingdom and glory and declares that while "I deserve it all", "dangerously / nothing changed with me / still got pain in me".
At age 37, Lamar remains in peak form (that breath control!) and stands alone in the rap world as a star who bridges generations without chasing trends. He generates his own gravity in the hip-hop universe. Pulling samples from the early ’80s - Debbie Deb, Luther Vandross, Whodini - he’s able to switch cadences and lyrical perspectives mid-song without ever losing the listener.
Album closer gloria, one of two tracks featuring former TDE labelmate SZA, is a glorious celebration of the pain and power of writing. In the vein of Common’s I Used to Love H.E.R. or Nas’ I Gave You Power, Lamar’s love story details a complicated relationship that listeners at first may think is about his longtime partner Whitney Alford, but turns out to be dedicated to his pen.
While carefully structured, GNX feels a bit more scattershot than Lamar’s traditionally concept-heavy studio albums. And there are hints that this collection of 12 songs is more of a "Part 1" or mixtape-type prelude to something more formal: The brief music video announcing the album features a snippet of a song that doesn’t even appear on GNX.
Whatever comes next, the Pulitzer Prize winner has written another thrilling chapter in what remains the most fascinating longform story in hip-hop: an ambitious and searingly talented poet from Compton working through his - and the world’s - contradictions on the biggest stage, forever discomforted by his crown. – AP
Summary:
Another thrilling chapter in the most fascinating longform story in hip-hop
