GutterPutter

When gnx dropped on the 22nd of November without any clear announcement beforehand, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was one of the biggest names in hip hop. Not just the most critically beloved, not just the most commercially successful, one of the biggest names in the genre. From Section.80 in 2011 all the way to Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers two years ago, he turns to concepts to unite most of his tracks be it his teenhood, systemic racism, or vices. K-Dot, simply put, has almost always kept his artistic merit close to himself and, like his biggest idol Tupac Shakur, he is more likely to rap about the plights of Black Americans than catchy gangsta tunes.

The times have changed however throughout the last few years. While Mr. Morale has proved itself to be another testament to Lamar’s dedication to his bit of introspection, his collaborations with his cousin Baby Keem and Beyonce showed a clear pivot towards cementing himself as a commercial wunderkind. His feud with Drake which surfaced this year has been kind to him as his diss tracks like “euphoria” or especially “Not Like Us” charting high as a single. His concert is a gigantic success that cements West Coast rap as being officially back to the top and his appearance on Super Bowl’s halftime show enjoys a lot of attention even with criticisms on his social consciousness.

GNX thus stands out in Lamar’s discography for several reasons. One, it’s the least conceptual if there’re even any underlying themes that make the tracks consistent. Two, he and his go-to producer Mark “Sounwave” Spears embrace the club-oriented influences from Dijon “Mustard” McFarlane who directly helped to produce two tracks here. Third, the album itself might well be the goofiest out of all his works so far which might be carried from the “certified pedophile!” punchlines of ‘Not Like Us’. Expect a lot of impressionable vocal inflections and unexpected memeable shouts in this album – “MUSTARD!” Take for instance ‘tv off’ with the previously mentioned line or the sassy dragging of the inflections in ‘squabble up’.

‘Wacced Out Murals’ marks the epic intro of the album with Lamar signalling his unwillingness to back down on his successes. He brags of his achievements and his dedications to his works with the added featured vocals from Mexican-born Mariachi singer Deyra Barrera and backing horns. This grandeur paves the way towards the likes of ‘reincarnated’, ‘heart pt. 6’, and ‘man at the garden’ which, through the respective themes of reincarnation, rap culture, and entitlement, punctuates through his self-doubt. The beats there took more notes from cloud rap and G-Funk as a statement of the emcee’s past. Indeed, Lamar’s pen game continues to be as strong as ever with a lot of literary images, smooth flows to carry through the production, and clear storytelling. He is not letting his idolisation of Tupac down at all.

DAMN. might be the most overt reach towards pop rap in Duckworth’s career, but GNX proves itself to be no slouch with its share of catchy tunes. ‘dodger blue’ feels very reminiscent of the early 90s’ West Coast music (think Ice Cube’s ‘Good Day’) with its deep bass, glazing-up of Los Angeles, and chill lyrics. The beats in ‘hey now’ and ‘peekaboo’ take on sub-basses and airy percussion to create a more low-key hardcore platform for calling out any oppositions. Thanks to the mentioned influence of Mustard’s production, they just so happen to be worthy for the club to the point where one might as well take it as a threat. 

Yet, the aim for repping the region remains prevalent even in its more commercial endeavour which invites in some killer guest verses from the relatively unknown “Dody6” and “AzChike” for the latter two tracks. Even in its most experimental track which is the title track, the trio guests in Timothy “Peysoy” Obotuke, “YoungThreat”, and Dominicke “Hitta J3” Williams are lining up to spit their bars on the most out-there beat the Neptunes could have made for Clipse. In particular, kudos to Hitta J3 for a fiery verse that, while it’s no means up there with AZ on Nas’s ‘Life’s A Bitch’, is full of swagger and confidence in delivery. A reasonable talent scout should be calling him up after hearing this. As for Peysoy and YoungThreat, their rapping isn’t as good based on personal opinions, but they’re likely destined for the same share of weirdness that Injury Reserve and Death Grips have thrived in.

The biggest cuts to treasure in GNX are, quite funnily enough, love songs in a broad sense. Duckworth is by no means a stranger to writing them as one of his breakout singles are about getting with a partygoer on Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. Yet, the two tracks left to talk about feels more lush in production, song structure, even just based on the rapping itself which is backed by the glorious highs of Solána “SZA” Rowe’s singing. ‘luther’, to start off on, has a wholesome, melodic chorus on giving up the whole world for your love interest which is backed by pianos, strings, and the sample of Cheryl Lynn and Luther Vandross to add to the romantic feeling. The harmony between SZA and Lamar has a lot of chemistry that truly helps to bring the song to life in its vitality even though the latter’s vocal is a tad bit too muted.

Then, you have the outro of ‘gloria’ which, given the meaning behind the name, is set on being an ode to Lamar’s partner and fiance Whitney Alford through all the highs and lows of their relationship since teenhood. However, there are signs that it isn’t all as straightforward as one would have suspected as a sonnet-esque praise. Take a few signs such as the lines like “‘member when you caught that body and still wiggled through that sentence?”, the reference to the romance film in The Notebook, and the allusions made to the classic narrative tropes of dealing drugs, all point towards the reveal in the end. In the same lineage as Lonnie ‘Common’ Lynn’s ‘I Used to Love H.E.R.’ or Nas’s ‘I Gave You Power’, ‘gloria’ is among the beloved series of (instant if you ask me) classics on personifications – this time on writing itself.

GNX is not like To Pimp a Butterfly in that it’s an indictment on the sociopolitical positions of Black Americans nor does it have a heartrending deep cut in Good Kid’s ‘Sing About Me (I’m Dying of Thirst)’. What it does reveal is that fifteen years into his career, even after proving himself to be among the best in the 21st Century already back in 2015, Kendrick Lamar has the talent to stay afloat for a long, long time. This album is his sole unfocused effort in terms of underlying themes and yet, he still goes the distance despite its smaller runtime of just under 45 minutes. Whoever gets the lucky shot at rapping alongside him, regardless of whether they mesh with his style, are likely set on getting more recognition from fans who like them. In particular, I think that Hitta J3 might have a better shot at making through to a critically respectable big break than someone like Joyner Lucas. Compton will continue to get itself represented and what a repping that must have been over the past fifteen years!

4.4/5