Home
GNX
Barnes and Noble
GNX
Current price: $17.99
Barnes and Noble
GNX
Current price: $17.99
Size: CD
Loading Inventory...
*Product information may vary - to confirm product availability, pricing, shipping and return information please contact Barnes and Noble
In 2024, we got to see
Kendrick Lamar
in real time. The Compton native wasn't descending from the mountain to deliver shrouded statement pieces and orchestrated opuses -- he was battering
Drake
in lived hours, "put[ting] one hundred hoods on one stage," headlining America's most celebrated sporting event. Capping the year off with a focused set of West Coast scorchers, his surprise sixth set,
GNX
, sees the rapper embrace being the moment; this is lightning-in-a-bottle
Kendrick
.
's first order is to yank rap back to its regional roots: the album's sound is as L.A. as "California Love" or a
Toddy Tee
cassette. The driving heart of the record is the regional bounce retooled for "Not Like Us," which forms the anthemic trinity of "squabble up," "hey now," and "tv off." With the stamp of authenticity -- "teleport to Bullets Road and dig up all my relatives" -- he digs sparse, fresh tracks through the sound alongside the unlikely
Jack Antonoff
; "hey now" captures the ghost of a stadium roar, "gnx" upturns its off-kilter pianos and basses, and "wacced out murals" plays like the child of
Yeezus
with metallic sirens and ravenous silences.
, running in tandem with a pack of L.A. up-and-comers, speaks with the chest-fire abandon of his city, firing off at will while still leaving room for the reflective "heart pt. 6" and "gloria." If
Mr. Morale
postured
in absolution -- "I am not your saviour" -- then
is a staggering rekindling of the "King Kunta" flame: "Who put the West back in front of shit? Tell 'em Kendrick did it" he spits on "gnx," before inviting
Peysoh
and
Hitta J3
up to bat. He's "prophetic" and "the greatest of all time" -- a visioned torchbearer for the culture.
And he's not the only one to feature here. On "reincarnated,"
continues his storied engagement with the figurehead of
Tupac Shakur
, wearing the rapper's vocal style like a spiritual shawl over a flip of "Made N*****" as he slots his soul into the lives of
Billie Holiday
John Lee Hooker
Deyra Barrera
's searching vocal snippet -- the project's conceptual through-line -- seats
next to
Anita Baker
; there are eyebrows raised at
Lil Wayne
Snoop
, harmonic connections with
SZA
, and memories of wanting to flow like
Soulo
. And for every face named there's another unspoken -- new flows from
Drakeo
Keek
, the blueprints of
Nipsey
Mac Dre
, the spirit of
Nas
on the "One Mic"-like "man at the garden." It seems little coincidence that the concept of the album revolves around a black Buick GNX -- itself a literally "black" icon.
Even when he's basking in triumph,
proves as complex as the present moment. Building a
DAMN.
-like skeleton from the kindlings of "The Heart Pt. 5,"
is a pillar of reflective realness, a flag planted in the lineage of Black musical visionaries, a silhouette of the West Coast in the high beams of fame -- and
's most speaker-knocking set to date. ~ David Crone
Kendrick Lamar
in real time. The Compton native wasn't descending from the mountain to deliver shrouded statement pieces and orchestrated opuses -- he was battering
Drake
in lived hours, "put[ting] one hundred hoods on one stage," headlining America's most celebrated sporting event. Capping the year off with a focused set of West Coast scorchers, his surprise sixth set,
GNX
, sees the rapper embrace being the moment; this is lightning-in-a-bottle
Kendrick
.
's first order is to yank rap back to its regional roots: the album's sound is as L.A. as "California Love" or a
Toddy Tee
cassette. The driving heart of the record is the regional bounce retooled for "Not Like Us," which forms the anthemic trinity of "squabble up," "hey now," and "tv off." With the stamp of authenticity -- "teleport to Bullets Road and dig up all my relatives" -- he digs sparse, fresh tracks through the sound alongside the unlikely
Jack Antonoff
; "hey now" captures the ghost of a stadium roar, "gnx" upturns its off-kilter pianos and basses, and "wacced out murals" plays like the child of
Yeezus
with metallic sirens and ravenous silences.
, running in tandem with a pack of L.A. up-and-comers, speaks with the chest-fire abandon of his city, firing off at will while still leaving room for the reflective "heart pt. 6" and "gloria." If
Mr. Morale
postured
in absolution -- "I am not your saviour" -- then
is a staggering rekindling of the "King Kunta" flame: "Who put the West back in front of shit? Tell 'em Kendrick did it" he spits on "gnx," before inviting
Peysoh
and
Hitta J3
up to bat. He's "prophetic" and "the greatest of all time" -- a visioned torchbearer for the culture.
And he's not the only one to feature here. On "reincarnated,"
continues his storied engagement with the figurehead of
Tupac Shakur
, wearing the rapper's vocal style like a spiritual shawl over a flip of "Made N*****" as he slots his soul into the lives of
Billie Holiday
John Lee Hooker
Deyra Barrera
's searching vocal snippet -- the project's conceptual through-line -- seats
next to
Anita Baker
; there are eyebrows raised at
Lil Wayne
Snoop
, harmonic connections with
SZA
, and memories of wanting to flow like
Soulo
. And for every face named there's another unspoken -- new flows from
Drakeo
Keek
, the blueprints of
Nipsey
Mac Dre
, the spirit of
Nas
on the "One Mic"-like "man at the garden." It seems little coincidence that the concept of the album revolves around a black Buick GNX -- itself a literally "black" icon.
Even when he's basking in triumph,
proves as complex as the present moment. Building a
DAMN.
-like skeleton from the kindlings of "The Heart Pt. 5,"
is a pillar of reflective realness, a flag planted in the lineage of Black musical visionaries, a silhouette of the West Coast in the high beams of fame -- and
's most speaker-knocking set to date. ~ David Crone
You May Also Like
More About Barnes and Noble at The Summit
With an excellent depth of book selection, competitive discounting of bestsellers, and comfortable settings, Barnes & Noble is an excellent place to browse for your next book.
Store Info
