Kendrick Lamar has released some of the most tasteful pieces of the time, but his recent album, “GNX,” is the most sentimental album he’s done. This is big for Lamar, as he has written many emotionally charged pieces like “We Cry Together.” GNX provides a healthy blend of upbeat songs, and songs to pull at the heartstrings. This album features Lamar’s nostalgia for his past, while simultaneously managing to call some other artists out. Lamar has blown up in streams this year with three diss tracks released on Drake. The album is phenomenal, but there were a few songs that outperformed the rest.
The first song on the album is titled “Wacced Out Murals.” This song’s beat and tone make Lamar sound aggressive, which is the truth. He was extremely mad. He calls out fellow hip-hop artist, Lil Wayne, saying, “He used to bump ‘Tha Carter III,’ I held my rollie chain proud / Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down.” Although, this wasn’t out of the blue. This was Lamar’s response to the controversy that Wayne started over Lamar performing in the next Super Bowl halftime show. Lamar goes after more people in this song, expressing just how mad he is.
The second song is called “Luther,” a track featuring SZA that is more of an R&B song than Lamar’s usual rap style. Lamar is an undeniably versatile artist, and this track shows it. Lamar and SZA switch places with each other while singing, making the song flow smoothly. This song has a perfect beat for the tone and flow, making it another 10/10.
This next song symbolizes Lamar’s affinity for religion and spirituality. In “Reincarnated,” Lamar goes on to talk about how he has been reincarnated for 100-plus years. Throughout the song, he talks about two different lives he’s “lived” and tells their stories. The end of the song is the most interesting though. Lamar has a talk with God on how he can better himself. God helps him see that what he and his “past lives” had been doing was wrong. In the last few bars of the song, Lamar makes a few promises to God on how he could do better. This song is an absolute masterpiece. Not only are the flow, beat, and lyrics unbelievable, but the meaning behind this song is incredible.
Ask the average Lamar fan what their favorite song from the “GNX” album is, and they will most likely give one of two songs. One of the hits is called “TV Off.” This song has a lively beat, similar to “Not Like Us” from his series of Drake diss tracks. In the song, Lamar’s lyrics and tone sound like he’s having fun with this song. When asked about their favorite part of the song, most people will say the beat switch. Here, Lamar changes the beat by making it sound much more menacing and starts this part of the song off by screaming “Mustard,” his producer’s name, and changing his flow entirely. This song is an absolute 10/10.
Almost every big artist in the rap industry has a series they do for certain songs on albums. Lamar continues that tradition with his “Heart” series on this album. “Heart Pt. 6” is the newest edition of this in the GNX album, and there’s a lot to this song. To start, this song’s flow and beat are unbelievably good, it sounds more like an RNB song than a rap song, and Lamar blends everything perfectly together. In this song, Lamar brings up his old friends in his now-disbanded group black hippie. The first person he mentions is Ab Soul, who he acknowledges for having incredible lyrics: “His words legendary, wishin’ I could rhyme like him.”
Lamar goes on to talk about a lot from his time as an up-and-coming artist, painting a clear picture of just how hard it was to come from where he did. This album was beautiful in its representation of the ugliness that comes with life and the beauty that is reaped from mistakes and forgiveness. Fans of Lamar can hope that if he chooses to go on another long hiatus, he will come back with a piece that provides as much enlightenment as this album did.
Final Rating: 4/5
