Feel, just a moment, for Father John Misty. Like clockwork, Kendrick Lamar returns, dropping surprise album GNX just as listeners were starting to warm to Mahashmashana. They still can though it has taken a back seat to this latest Lamar work. Shock releases will rarely not provide a positive surprise, the ripple effect and word of mouth, now social media, it has on a listener is a new layer. It is about being a part of something, the buzz and adrenalin which comes at a time of great excitement. GNX generates that even before the first track begins for those who jumped on it immediately. For those who spent their day looking for drill pieces and taking full advantage of a granola discount, GNX took a back seat and Mahashmashana was put in the boot with tote bags full of raisins and screws. Better late than never.
Lamar is on the back foot with this one, and it is not his fault expectations are so high. This is an exceptional moment, a series of songs which promise, as Wacced Out Murals does, that he has not lost sight of who he is or his purpose. There was a time just recently when the allure of his material spread far beyond what his songs could provide, the feud with Drake and subsequent floor-mopping Lamar carried out with those diss tracks is so far removed from GNX, and such is the point. There are few, if any, specific references to the spat which kept summer so surprising. Instead, Lamar accepts he is not everyone’s cup of tea and the only way to accept that is to work hard, to plug away with the exceptional instrumental blur he has on his hands for GNX. For the car aficionados, there is an inevitable comparison between the formidable hip-hop powerhouse and the reliable, sturdy car he pulls the name of this album from.
GNX maintains the basics as a fascinating angle. Lamar has an effective and impressive tempo and the breathlessness of it and the push into Squabble Up is immaculate. Rich layers of sampling and lyrical intent are up for grabs and most of it hits well. Slick suggestions of self-improvement, of boastful success and though the likes of Luther are fairly plain, they are built up by the good faith Lamar is cashing in following a lucrative summer. Production is the real draw here, the heartbeat-like introduction of chilling high Man at the Garden and the allure of gluttonous occasions on Reincarnated, booms through. At times it finds itself the feature above these lyrical charms, though when Lamar does find himself opening his personal life up, he finds the contrast of staggering moments with ease.
From a screech of Mustang on Dodger Blue to the paranoia present in Peekabo, there are great moments throughout GNX. For an artist so closely tied with the narrative form as a presence in his work, GNX may be a step not down, but to the left, of what fans may be expecting. But you did not expect this. A surprise album from Lamar is a rare treat and where it thrives is in its lyrical consistencies, in the production of classy and quality hip hop beats. There is an on-edge sense to it all, a style from Lamar which suggests that for all the highs this year has brought, it may never be enough. Heart Pt. 6 is as personable as it gets, and there is plenty of that “heart on display,” as Lamar puts it, because that is the healthiest way to express grief and grim times. Boastful works planted throughout, and rightly so. There is plenty for Lamar to brag about on GNX.
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