Kendrick Lamar surprise drops new album 'GNX'

Kendrick Lamar showered his fans with an early Christmas gift in the form of a new album 'GNX' which has been released exceptionally after keeping the fans in anticipation, a move that has been previously adopted by some big names in the music industry. Being his sixth studio album, it was released out of the blue much to what Beyoncé did with her self-titled album in 2013 which engages the listeners’ curiosity and interest. The 12 chapters of the album discuss various topics and not surprisingly, the signature ’dive deep’ approach of Kendrick occurs with a lot of social issues.

One track which enhances the overall experience of the album would surely be “Squabble Up,” a song that a lot of people have been looking forwards since its preview was released some few months ago. Carried out in production by Mustard, it gives an idea of the direction that the album is going, which is a mixture of street bangers and deep songs. Also, thereia a song called ‘Luther’ where SZA reunited with L Cody, and they sampled the song called ‘If this World were Mine’ by Luther Vandross which demonstrates the versatility in the album. As is common with most albums appetizer in the form of promotions, teasers and even extreme transitions, fans are already busy mingling admiring the twisted beats and savage words, which only indicates that Lamar has again made the damn volume as a blatant standard of another different level of hip hop expectation.

Another aspect of the album that poses interesting questions in relation to the projects prevailing style is GNX collaboration with different artists and incorporation of various styles. The album also features producer backup by Jack Antonoff, a close associate of Taylor Swift in most of her projects. His production enhances the album as he allows Lamar to flow from a more aggressive rap style to a more abstract one. These combinations are going to be a cause for so much talking within the next few weeks as both fans and critics will be analysing each and every single beat and every single bar.

With the release of the album, we see Kendrick who has been reflecting on various aspects of his journey including the moment he ‘quit’ Top Dawg Entertainment and started working on his label, pgLang. Personal Growth also features as a constant theme in GNX, which gives added significance to those who are keen followers of the evolution of their icon in this case Kendrick​. Kendrick Lamar's GNX proves once again that he is a force to be reckoned with in the music industry, delivering an album that surprises, challenges, and captivates his audience.