At the back end of last year Kendrick surprise dropped GNX, his sixth full LP, and I'm glad I've let it sit with me for a couple of months as it has really grown on me. It follows a massive 2024 for him, where he absolutely decimated Drake in their rap-beef and one of those songs rivalling HUMBLE. as his biggest hit yet. That song being the massive sounding, party banger Not Like Us produced by DJ Mustard. It was the kind of transcendent pop-rap jam that Kendrick rarely explores, as when he does go in a more pop direction, it's usually in the styles relaxed neo-soul beats and contemporary R&B, or straight up trap.
While in retrospect it makes sense that GNX follows in this direction, at first it kind of took me aback a little. Kendrick's last record, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, was excruciatingly personal, with the narrative of that record basically being about Kendrick overcoming the pressure he feels on him to be some kind of 'black saviour' figure, alongside his past familial trauma, to basically live his life for himself. It seemed like a massive whiplash for him to make what is quite frankly his most mainstream album to date. Similarly, GNX follows on from the Drake beef, with Kendrick at his most self-aggrandising and self-righteous, taking shots left and right at other rappers and rap culture at large. Which again is a massive u-turn on one of Mr. Morale's biggest themes, that of letting go of ones ego.
But the more I let the record sink in, the more it clicked with me. The pressure on Kendrick with each release to make albums that were simultaneously 'grand artistic magnum opuses' and also pop mega smash hits resulted in both DAMN. and MM&TBS being quite inconstant and cohesive releases; with Mr. Morale in particular being quite a tortured and messy album in retrospect. Looking at it from that angle, it's clear that GNX was the only path forward for Kendrick, as no-one (not even Lamar) can keep topping each release with something 'even more' grandiose and culture defining. And anyway, Kendrick deserves to let loose every once in a while. It also helps that these tracks absolutely bang, and at a trim 45 minutes, it's Kendrick's tightest mainline release.
And yes, while it lacks some of the overtly provocative and deeply personal moments and mental genre-bending experiments that initially drew me to Kendrick's music, it's still lyrically dense and meaningful, and has some great beat switch ups and instrumental flourishes. There is a recurring motif featuring mariachi singer Deyra Barrera, neo-soul slow jams featuring SZA (and Kendrick R&B crooning voice is finally getting better after like 3 albums of trying it), hardcore hip hop bangers and a handful of those loose, reflective west-coast hip hop jams that Kendrick never fails to pull off. GNX is also Kendrick at his goofiest and most fun, with a couple of moments becoming meme status.
All in all, by removing himself from the pressure of being 'the most important artist alive' Kendrick has made his most consistently enjoyable LP since To Pimp A Butterfly, and I wouldn't be surprised if it tops DAMN. as his commercial peak in the coming months / years.
Top Tracks: wacced out murals, squabble up, luther, man at the garden, hey now, reincarnated, tv off, peekaboo, heart pt. 6, gloria
8/10
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