written by Fenton Wright

GNX Album Review: 

Kendrick Lamar Banner for ERS+

Album: GNX

Favorite Songs: heart pt. 6 , man at the garden, reincarnation, gloria

For Fans Of: Ab-Soul, ScHoolboy Q, JID

The ‘Culture’. Over the past year this is what Kendrick Lamar has sought to reclaim and redefine. In his eyes hip-hop has lost what its original meaning was, having been tainted by bad actors and people who only want to use the genre for profit. GNX serves as a victory lap for what has been a generational 2024 for not only Kendrick but West Coast rap and hip-hop culture in general.

One Hour Rollout

One hour was all it took for Kendrick Lamar to break the internet. November 22, 2024, 11:00am EST, he released a snippet of his upcoming project titled GNX. Just an hour later he released the full album to the surprise of everyone on the internet. Social media went wild, as everyone scrambled to listen to this album that writes and extends the legend of Kendrick Lamar. 

Consisting of twelve tracks and not a single second of the snippet that he dropped earlier in the day, GNX sees Kendrick further cement himself as the biggest name in rap at the moment and potentially all time. He further legitimizes himself as the best and furthers his own spirituality and defines what he believes not only rap to be, but also what his purpose in this life is. He once again lays claim to the title of the ‘king of rap’ and questions what credentials anyone else has to lay a finger on his crown. 

Reincarnated

Kendrick begins GNX with a reflection on the past couple of months of his career. Just two months ago, he was announced as the headliner of the Super Bowl halftime show February 2025. Rapper Lil Wayne expressed resentment and jealousy because of Lamar’s success. Kendrick’s response was to lay his heart out there and comment on the two-faced aspects of the industry and the fans who have split on whether or not to support him or not. In “wacced out murals,” he calls out multiple rappers. He calls out Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne for not celebrating his achievements or congratulating him from one rapper to another. This is what makes the foundation of the ‘Culture’ that Kendrick wants to rebuild: a mutual respect for other artists, while also believing yourself to be the best rapper. Outside of wanting his respect from other rappers, Kendrick wants his respect from the rest of the ‘Culture’. The name of the song is a reference to his mural in Compton being defaced. 

The next songs on the album have a less targeted message and are more so Kendrick’s own thoughts on what is owed to him. “luther” featuring SZA serves as his own reflection of what he would give the people he loves if he could. Wanting to give them the world, but only being able to give them love and attempt to take away their pain. He views this as all that he can do despite knowing that if he were all powerful, then everybody would be living in bliss and want for nothing, as he says, “I’d take away the pain, I’d give you everything.”

Reclaimed

Like most albums do, GNX has its songs that are meant to be hits and then it has songs such as “man at the garden” and “reincarnation” that lay all of what Kendrick believes deep down. He feels that everything that he has achieved in the hip-hop world is deserved and that no one can take anything away from him. Everything that all of these other rappers have is what Kendrick thinks that he deserves. All of the fame, money, recognition, brand deals, everything. No one in his mind represents the ‘Culture’ better than he. Not only does he believe he deserves these things, but he also believes that he is sent directly by his ancestors to make sure that people have a true image of what hip-hop is when compared to what Kendrick considers to be fake hip-hop like Drake and other artists.That is one of the cruxes of what Kendrick is getting at in this album: that he himself is the savior of hip-hop and the ‘Culture’. Everything that he does is to protect the next generation from bad examples of hip-hop and elevate us to continue his legacy and the legacy of his idol 2pac. 

In the song “reincarnated,” Lamar takes us deeper into his psyche and his approach to being that aforementioned savior of hip-hop. He shows us that he views himself and other musicians as the manifestations of Lucifer, sent to lead people astray and praise false idols. He references Isaiah 14, which could be interpreted as Lucifer being the angel of music to further his story. He sees this in every artist and then goes on to detail a conversation between himself (Lucifer) and God. He realizes that he has to use his gifts for good and to stop the cycles of violence that are promoted in other forms of rap. He wants to fix everything, but God tells him that this is a part of who he is. It is in his nature to lead people astray through music and he has to come to terms with and actively seek out giving people understanding rather than confusion to be “reincarnated” into someone who can lead the next generation against bad influences. These influences in the end are something that he knows he is responsible for and now he has to disconnect the devil from music to cleanse the ‘Culture.’

In the backend of the album, Kendrick in “heart pt. 6” lays his pride out there for us to see how it is something that both encourages his form of music, while also being something that can’t guide his decisions. He further shows us his own problems in the form of “gloria,” recognizing his own shortcomings in his relationships with women. His woman is his inspiration and his driving force to be great. He wants to be great for her and knows that everything that he is able to do comes from their union and is not in spite of it. 

What the Culture Needs

GNX does exactly what Kendrick wants it to do. It further cleanses the ‘Culture’ that he sees as superficial and distinctly different from the ‘Culture’ that he grew up in. Hip-hop as a whole has needed something like the year of 2024 for a long time. Rappers have become too comfortable being terrible influences on black children and children all over the world. The glorification of gang violence and drugs has been something that has completely tainted the genre. Kendrick sat back and watched all of this unfold until he no longer could. This is why he dissed Drake and J. Cole earlier in the year. He himself admitted that it was not supposed to turn into the bloodbath that it ended up being, he just wanted to shake up the ‘Culture’. However, this has turned into a full on reclamation of hip-hop. He’s taking it from the people who don’t deserve it in order to make sure that the next generation is better off. This is why he made Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers and this is why he went after Drake the way he did. Kendrick has always believed that he is the man to carry the torch and continue 2pac’s legacy, and that’s exactly what he is doing. The Drake beef and Pop Out concert were only the beginning in his war for the ‘Culture,’ and GNX is just one battle that he has once again won in historic fashion.

What’s Next?

The next thing that is solidified for Kendrick Lamar is his appearance as the headline of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, where he will be able to showcase his vision for the ‘Culture’ on the biggest stage in America. However, after that, fans are not quite sure what to expect from Lamar. For the most part people were expecting this album to come out after his Super Bowl performance, but with the release of GNX, fans no longer know what to expect. Will he release another album after the Super Bowl? Will he go back into an era of silence, only coming back when hip-hop needs him most? Only time will give us the answers to all of these questions, but one thing that is certain is that Kendrick Lamar is one of if not the best rapper alive.

I personally felt like this album had some of the best songs I’ve ever heard, let alone rap songs. Each song gave us a new perspective into the mindset of Kendrick Lamar and the spiritual battle that he believes himself to be at the center of. Come this time next year, I would be surprised to not see this album being celebrated as one of the best albums of the year and most influential of all time.