The Pop Corporation

After the absolutely breathtaking spectacle and culture event of the Kendrick/Drake feud, King Kenny wasn’t quite done. We knew he was planning a Super Bowl Halftime show, which honestly, isn’t likely to be half as good as his Pop Out show back in June where he invited half of Los Angeles on stage with him and delivered body blow after body blow with multiple pull-ups of ‘Not Like Us’.

Out of the blue, he had anyone with even the vaguest interest in hip hop screaming “A-MINNNNNOOOOOOOOOOR!” in one of the rare instances where a diss track crossed over and topped the charts. Drake, officially dead, must have been glad that come November, people had stopped mentioning his name.

However, even to the surprise of his own record label, Kendrick casually drops ‘GNX’ as a pre-Thanksgiving gift to everyone and, naturally, it is full to bursting with ideas, complex lyrics, hooks and, in a welcome return, some party-and-bullshit.

Of course, heavy is the head that wears the crown and all that – it feels like there’s been intense pressure on Kendrick to be a spokesperson for everyone, to wear the responsibility of hip hop as a culture, to be a head of the Big Three, to be introspective, to deal with his own demons… and it must be exhausting.

With ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’, he made for a personal album where he told us he was working on himself and that he wasn’t perfect. Not that we expected him to be, but the weight of his career was evident and the pageantry of the tour for it showed Kendrick working in rarified air. That’s what made the Drake beef so welcome – it was beautifully petty, it was a soap opera we could all get behind and it showed that, aside from all the philosophising and righteousness, there was immediacy and playfulness in Lamar.

He shook the world of hip hop up and dropped a video which showed just how Kendrick was still a man of the people. In it, he was smiling, surrounded by familiar faces and family, and the whole thing blew all the cobwebs out of the corners of hip hop that is still working out what the next move is going to look like.

Just as this virtual victory lap was wrapping up, his social media silence ended. No teasers. No messing around. Here’s ‘GNX’. Go nuts with it.

Through the LP, we hear Derya Barrera – a mariachi singer – which gives off a faint flavour of D’Angelo’s ‘Black Messiah’, but also, huge synth basslines that are itching to be heard through a huge PA. There’s moments that feel almost operatic, there’s moments of fury that sound like a sweaty, windowless club. There’s irritation that someone ‘whacked out’ his mural, and snark too for the old-heads who feel like Kendrick owes them something.

While Snoop shared Drake’s ‘Taylor Made’ freestyle, Kendrick wonders why the Doggfather wasn’t pissed about Drake’s use of an AI Tupac. “Snoop posted ‘Taylor Made,’ I prayed it was the edibles – I couldn’t believe it, it was only right for me to let it go.” A Wayne’s annoyance that Kendrick was playing the Super Bowl in New Orleans? Kendrick may have invited him onto his stage, but everyone’s bullshit got in the way and Wayne joined in: “used to bump Tha Carter III, I held my Rollie chain proud/ Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down.”

And while these barbs aren’t exactly straight up venom, if these legends have learned anything from the summer, when Kendrick is coiled, you better made sure you’re match-fit. You get the impression that Wayne and Snoop have been around the block so many times that no beef will be forthcoming – rather, a respect for an artist who will not blink when challenged.

The uptempo moments on the LP feel like the best Kendrick party tracks in ages, in particular ‘TV OFF’, which again – after his summer smash with DJ Mustard – features a ‘MUUUUUSSSSTAAAARDD’ cry that immediately went viral.

The softer moments on the album really shine too, notably with the wonderful ‘Luther’ which features SZA and the ghost of the aforementioned Vandross.

And while a lot of marquee rap LPs show off the recognisability of their features and guest spots, Kendrick is not wholly about that life, featuring Lefty Gunplay, AzChike, Dody 6, YoungThreat, Hitta J3, Peysoh, and Wallie The Sensei.

What is impressive about the album is how these softer moments don’t kill the momentum of the whole thing. The rich layers of production don’t feel fussy either – it’s a whip-smart album, but it’s just so much fun to listen to. In fact, while many of Kendrick’s albums have prompted us to wonder where he lies in the list of All Time Greats, this was the first album in a long while that just demanded to be enjoyed in its own right.

Maybe that’s what makes the great, great? You can talk about your legacy and get bogged down in where you will be placed in history, but on ‘GNX’, Kendrick reminded everyone that sometimes, all you have to do is release something that’s really great to listen to. Of course, the riddles and codes will unravel over the weeks and months – they always do – however, if you want to listen to this completely on the surface level, you’ll have a wonderful time with it. Goddammit, it’s GREAT to hear Kenny enjoying himself!

Fuck the hot takes. Fuck trying to ride the coattails of this album. Fact is, ‘GNX’ sounds great, we want to party with it, we want to let it wash over us. Forget what you might think of it and any list you’re making – this is an album for right now, a love letter to the West Coast, and we’re loving it.