By nature, hip-hop feuds are divisive, however the beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar was polarising in a manner that had nothing to do with whose facet you took. There have been individuals who thought it was the best rap battle in historical past, outstripping Jay-Z and Nas, Ice Dice and his former bandmates in NWA, even Biggie and Tupac. Equally, there have been others who questioned if it even counted as a rap battle in any respect: noting that each contributors had been already superstars, relatively than a “younger, hungry MC utilizing this as a car to get to the subsequent place”, veteran critic Nelson George described it as “wealthy Black males attacking different wealthy Black males on their social media, from the consolation of their very own houses”. However no matter stance you took, it was apparent who the winner was. Lamar’s Not Like Us not solely landed a knockout blow, it achieved issues no diss observe has achieved earlier than: it went to No 1, affected the marketing campaign messaging of US election, turned an American sports activities anthem, impressed a online game, was nominated for 5 Grammys – together with document and tune of the 12 months – and obtained Lamar tapped because the headliner of the 2025 Tremendous Bowl half-time present.
It’s a victory that appears to energy GNX, a shock launch that couldn’t be extra completely different in tone from Lamar’s final album Mr Morale and the Huge Steppers, which spent 75 minutes thrashing about, full of self-criticism and doubt, considering the inevitable finish of his second within the highlight and reassuring himself that “you possibly can’t please everybody” on a observe referred to as Crown. No such points on GNX, an album that covers a whole lot of completely different subjects – from romance on two duets with SZA, to the dissolution of Lamar’s Black Hippy collective – however on which the general message appears to be: who else needs some? “It was once ‘fuck that nigga’, however now it’s plural,” he affords on the opening Wacced Out Murals. So it appears. Though Drake will get it within the neck once more, what’s hanging is how his targets have now expanded to incorporate Snoop Dogg (who posted a hyperlink to Drake’s diss observe Taylor Made on social media), Lil Wayne (who was apparently aggrieved about Lamar’s Tremendous Bowl slot), these with “old-ass flows”, individuals who provide “backhanded compliments”, sundry unnamed figures accused of making an attempt to “hate on me” in Peekaboo and, doubtlessly, Lamar’s personal grandma, whom he threatens to chop off “if she don’t see it like I see it” throughout TV Off.
You could possibly learn so much from the truth that, SZA apart, there are not any friends even remotely of Lamar’s essential or industrial stature on GNX: if it appears altruistic of him to cede the mic to up-and-comers Hitta J3, Peysoh and YoungThreat on the title observe, one other studying could be that Lamar doesn’t take into account any of his precise friends to be worthy of sharing his highlight, a sense strengthened by Reincarnated, which seems to counsel that Lamar is the reincarnation of each John Lee Hooker and Billie Holliday (and, the pattern of Made Niggaz that drives the musical backing suggests, Tupac Shakur). The observe concludes with God – voiced by Lamar –showing with a purpose to admonish him. When he does, Lamar momentarily sounds abashed. However, a person who actually requires divine intervention to get him to wind his neck in a bit is clearly not beset by a insecurity.
It’s an enormous leap from the wracked determine on the centre of Mr Morale, and it could appear faintly risible had been it not for the truth that GNX is evidently an album made by an artist on the prime of his sport. The braggadocio is richly, massively entertaining, his depictions of his early years and of his Los Angeles dwelling city persistently enthralling. The rhymes shift away from Lamar’s trademark storytelling, however what they lack in plotting and depth, they make up for within the sharpness of wordplay and wit: “I put a sq. on his again like I’m Jack Dorsey,” he spits on Hey Now; Gloria presents itself as a love tune, however seems to be an impassioned paean to Lamar’s relationship with writing.
The implication behind Gloria appears to be that Lamar has obtained the place he’s – the one rapper, certainly pop artist, in historical past to win a Pulitzer, the title that all the time will get pulled out to counter outdated hip-hop followers’ complaints about declining requirements in lyrics and approach – as a result of he works tougher at his craft. One thing related is usually recommended by the manufacturing on GNX. Using Jack Antonoff – who works on just about each observe right here, pairing up with long-term collaborator Sounwave – is each a swaggering transfer and threat: the previous as a result of Antonoff is among the hottest producers on this planet, the latter as a result of he has just about no type within the subject of hip-hop.
However the outcomes are ceaselessly wonderful: that GNX sounds extra like an album aimed on the membership or in-car leisure than ponderous dwelling listening doesn’t preclude it having a wealthy and surprisingly eclectic sound, with room for mariachi singer Deyra Barrera and jazz hero Kamasi Washington; for the type of abstraction discovered on the title observe’s itchy, fidgety backing and old style 80s Latin freestyle, the latter referenced on Squabble Up. It’s massive on fantastically deployed samples – Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s cowl of If This World Have been Mine on Luther,R&B trio SWV on Coronary heart Half 6 – and on springing refined surprises, as when, halfway by way of TV Off, the clipped string samples are immediately changed by what appears like a triumphal fanfare swiped from a film soundtrack.
If it isn’t the type of grand, advanced assertion discovered on To Pimp a Butterfly or Mr Morale and the Huge Steppers, GNX is nonetheless massively spectacular: compact however substantial, punchy however broad in musical scope. “I deserve all of it,” Lamar retains drawling throughout Man on the Backyard, and, susceptible to swelling his head additional – doubtlessly requiring one other calming go to from the person upstairs – you possibly can perceive his triumphalism.
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