Kendrick Lamar has released a surprise album titled ‘GNX’. It was the last thing we expected. It is the rapper’s first official release after the massive ‘Not Like Us’ and includes the song ‘squabble up’, briefly shown in the video for the diss against Drake. However, the Song of the Day is ‘tv off’, another guaranteed success for Lamar.
The Compton rapper once again bets on hyphy with the help of Mustard, creator of the beat of ‘Not Like Us’. This subgenre of rap emerged in the late 90s in the Californian bay area. Its name derives from the word “hyperactive.” Mustard himself revived this style in the mid-2010s and converted it to be played at full volume in clubs, along with artists like Roddy Ricch or YG.
The hyphy achieved worldwide fame with the success of ‘Not Like Us’, and Lamar has not left him aside in ‘GNX’. In fact, he takes the opportunity to show his most ruthless version, leaving metaphors and elaborate concepts aside. ‘tv off’ is a clear example of this: “Fuck being rational, let’s give them what they want,” Kenny begins before the beat breaks.
Throughout the song, Lamar, with his constant voice changes and inflections, leaves gems like “this is not a song, this is a revelation, how to make a black man disappear.” Drake is writhing in his bed right now. On the LP, Kendrick gives no respite to anyone, calling attention to artists like Lil Wayne or Snoop Dogg (“Snoop posted ‘Taylor Made’, I prayed it was edible”).
‘tv off’ also leaves one of the wildest phrases of the project, and helps us get an idea of the vital moment in which the rapper finds himself. He has stopped the nonsense: “He feels he has the right because he has known me since I was a child / Bitch, I would push my grandmother away if she doesn’t see him the way I see him.” It is the perfect complement to the scream that opens the second part of the song. “MUSTAAAAAAARD!” Lamar lets out, in what is already an iconic moment on the LP.
‘GNX’ is Kendrick Lamar’s first release outside of Top Dawg Entertainment, the label that has accompanied him for most of his career. ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ was his last project with the label.
The LP is 44 minutes long, divided into 12 songs. The list of collaborators is made up of SZA, on ‘luther’ and ‘gloria’, Sam Dew, AzChike. Likewise, there are numerous appearances by local Los Angeles rappers, such as Dody6 or Peysoh. Mustard, Jack Antonoff and Sounwave, among others, contributed to the album’s production.
