On Friday, November 22 Kendrick Lamar released his new album titled GNX. The album surprised many, considering Lamar hadn’t done anything to promote the album. The album was released with 12 tracks including features from TDE (Top Dawg Entertainment) member SZA, Roddy Rich, DJ Mustard, and other up-and-coming West Coast rappers. Many songs of the album have West Coast-sounding beats and instrumentals, including many nods to Lamar’s idols. James B. ‘26 describes the album as “ I thought it was pretty fire, every song goes hard, and lastly Mustard might be the hardest line I’ve ever heard.”
Tupac Shakur is one of Lamar’s biggest idols. The song “Reincarnated” pays tribute to West Coast legend. Jack Antonoff aids Kendrick in his production of a song on GNX. He is notorious for his work on projects with huge superstars. Antonoff samples Shakur’s song “Made N*****s” to deliver an authentic West Coast vibe. This song must have meant a lot to Kendrick.
While Lamar mentioned many of his idols, he was not holding back on disses towards some of them either. In his song titled Wacced Out Murals, Lamar takes direct shots at 2 legendary rappers Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne a rapper from the early 2000s is known for his mixtapes and his songs like “Lollipop and A Milli” Lil Wayne’s diss was more memorable due to Lamar performing at the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl will be held in New Orleans this year and Kendrick Lamar is performing. Lil Wayne is a New Orleans native felt as if he should’ve had the halftime performance. “Used to bump the Carter III, I held my rollie chain proud. Irony, I think my hard work let lil Wayne down.” Lamar comments on the Super Bowl situation, showing how Lil Wayne was one of his inspirations for starting music. Now, Lamar has let him due to his resurgence in rap popularity. Jonathan D. ‘26 gives their opinion on Lamar performing at the Super Bowl, “I think it will be a great performance, Jay-Z made a great choice..”
With Lamar’s rise back to the top, how popular will GNX get before the Super Bowl?