Kendrick Lamar’s illustrious career needs no explanation. From the numerous critically acclaimed albums he has under his belt, including To Pimp A Butterfly and Good Kid, m.A.A.d. city, to the most recent success of his single “Not Like Us” creating a cultural impact for music fans everywhere. Lamar has been one of the most successful rappers and musicians of this past decade.
However, on November 22nd, Lamar unexpectedly dropped a new album to the surprise of rap fans. This album, titled GMX, is shorter only consisting of 12 songs. Before the album was released, Kendrick dropped a couple of photos of the album cover on his Instagram and a short video.
The album has already had many big songs including “squabble up” which is a great tribute to West Coast hip hop. This comes from the help of the production of Sounwave, a long-time producer for Lamar and for many of the songs on Taylor Swift’s album “Midnights”. This song also sticks out because of a sample used from the 1980s dance song titled “When I Hear Music” by Debbie Deb.
“squabble up” has already been previously teased by Lamar. In the monumental video for his hit “Not Like Us”, the song is played at the beginning of the video, leading many fans to wonder what song this is. Some fans even speculated that this snippet would be one of Lamar’s many unreleased songs.
“gloria” and “luther” are two other songs that stood out both featuring R&B singer and songwriter SZA. On the song “luther” Lamar and SZA duet over a sample of the Luther Vandross song “If This World Were Mine”. The song speaks about bettering partners in a relationship by pursuing love and avoiding the pain that comes from relationships. Both sing their own parts at first but their voices come together in the chorus with a luscious harmony. This song is also enhanced by production from another Taylor Swift producer Jack Antonoff.
The other SZA-infused song is “gloria” the last track on the album. While “luther” speaks about Lamar’s relationship with a woman, this song speaks about his relationship with his art. The woman Kendrick speaks about in this song is an extended metaphor for the discussion of his rapping. In Spanish, “Gloria” means “glory” which is a personification of his rap glory and the artistic journey it represents.
Another standout song on the album is titled “tv off”. This song is almost a sequel to “Not Like Us” with production that is eerily similar to the single. Halfway through, there is a major beat switch with more horns and an overall climatic sound. This all comes from the production of DJ Mustard who Lamar shouts out in the song when he yells his name “Mustard”. This reference has spawned many memes and jokes in the process, with even McDonald’s getting in on the joke.
All in all, Kendrick Lamar has yet again put out an excellent project for his catalog. GMX combines great songwriting and production by Lamar and Jack Antonoff but is also a very personal album that shows a very emotional side of the Compton rapper. While this may not be the most impactful LP by his standards, GMX is still an album that displays the creativity and intelligence of Lamar as an artist, and his ability to stay relevant during this changing music climate.
