Kendrick Lamar’s GNX: A Victory Lap and Love Letter to Los Angeles
2 years after his last album and half a year since the largest Rap beef since Tupac and Biggie, “GNX” serves as Kendrick Lamar’s homage to his hometown and victory lap.
“GNX” came as a surprise release, with a tone that couldn’t be more different from Lamar’s last album “Mr Morale and the Big Steppers”, which dealt with topics of trauma, self love and therapy. Instead, “GNX” serves as a sort of palate cleanser from the emotional heaviness, and offers a full package: energetic bangers, suave duets, and even conscious cuts.
Kendrick Lamar, Spotify
Coming off the rap feud with Drake – which from that produced the cultural hit that was “Not Like Us” – the Los Angeles rapper found within himself a seething hatred. This sentiment is prevalent in the two opening tracks, “wacced out murals” and “squabble up,”: “I’ll kill ’em all before I let ’em kill my joy”; “Before I take a truce, I’ll take him to hell with me.”
Kendrick also reflects on his past and life values through poignant cuts like “man in the garden”, “reincarnated” and “heart pt.6”, with the latter being named in such a way as to differentiate with Drake’s “THE HEART PART 6”. As seen in “reincarnated”, Lamar addresses his own hypocrisy and the nuance around the gang war in Los Angeles”: “I'm tryna push peace in L.A. / But you love war.
Kendrick Lamar & SZA - gloria, Genius
The last track “gloria”, Kendrick speaks of a woman – a figure that serves as a metaphor for his craft. Directly translated to glory in Spanish, the rapper describes his own intimate and conflicting relationship with his art, reflecting on its power to uplift or consume him. As the album fades out with SZA’s chorus: “I see you, you see me / Both see what we want.”, both long-time collaborators highlight the duality of love – its power to heal and harm.
Aside from SZA, none of the features on “GNX” are remotely near Kendrick’s stature; instead, the rapper had opted to give voice to upcoming West coast rappers like Hitta J3, Peysoh, and Dody6. The conscious choice to not include a star studded feature list highlights Lamar’s commendable commitment to uplifting his hometown and own people.
Kendrick Lamar. (AP Photo / Rich Fury)
Ultimately, “GNX” serves as a triumphant victory lap for the Los Angeles rapper, one that also reflects his own evolution as an artist. Through the album, Kendrick has certainly solidified himself as one of the greats and the king of the game – one that he will hold for years to come.
