DJ's Soundcheck: gnx - Kendrick Lamar
first listen, first impressions.
As someone who’s spent majority of her life being defined by her love for music, it would be unnatural for me to build a platform voicing my opinions without catering to an interest that begets some of the most passionate opinions I’ll ever have. I am thrilled by music, and even more thrilled to contribute to the conversation surrounding it.
Soundcheck is a mini segment where I share my thoughts on the music that’s hot right now.
First up: gnx by Kendrick Lamar
[This one is a late submission.]
On the heels of what is probably the biggest rap beef of the 2020s, Kendrick Lamar decided to shock his fans and ‘haters’ alike with a surprise album. With listeners worldwide tuned in and forcibly deconstructing his lyrics like an ancient hieroglyphic scroll (one day we’ll talk about this), and Drake seemingly in his attorney’s office plotting his next move, I figure it’s the perfect time to add my unsolicited 2 cents.
Having heard snippets from the chronically online hip hop heads’ favourite and most memeable moments of the album, I already expected to hear something similar to the vibe of Not Like Us. I wasn’t wrong. Overall, gnx offers a quintessentially West Coast sound that I can appreciate as someone with zero geographical or emotional connection to the place. As I combed through the project, I was reminded of pioneers like Ice Cube, 2Pac, and Snoop Dogg who built that very sound. Whatever the intention of this album was, it certainly does a good job of paying homage to Kendrick’s home.
Here are scribbles of my first impressions on the album, track by track, post-first (and only, so far) listen. Skip to “Final Thoughts” for a more cohesive review.
(legend: ★ = 1 star | ☆ = 1/2 star)
wacced out murals
★☆
notes: This one is just a little too dark for me and the aggression feels a bit played out. I get it. You’re a hater. You spent the last 6+ diss tracks making sure we knew that. I’m ready to move on.
squabble up
★★★★
notes: He’s talking his shit in a typical, Hip-Hoppian way. You can’t be mad at it. I can see myself rapping along at some point. ratings up for the vibes.
luther
★★★(★★)
notes: Immediate bias because SZA is on it. It didn’t really grab me on first listen the way I wanted it to, though. Is it a song I see myself revisiting? I’m not sure yet. I’ll give it 1 more listen and decide if I can bump the ranking up for this one. (first rating: 3★)
update: it came on shuffle while I was writing this and I’m literally obsessed. top 3! (+2★)
man at the garden
★★★
notes: More than anything, I liked the lyrics I managed to hear (1st listen unassisted by genius). It felt like the type of song a man would listen to while he works hard to get his bread up, and I can appreciate anything that encourages that type of behaviour.
hey now
★★★★
notes: At this point, I started getting bored. The song itself had a good classic West Coast vibe, and I love dody6’s voice on it. I loved Kendrick’s flow, and I always love a good back & forth between 2 rappers on a track. But the content is getting repetitive. You said all this 4 songs ago.
reincarnated
★★★★
notes: this song made me think of B.I.G. Kendrick gave us a different tone to what we would’ve been hearing the entire album thus far and I appreciated it. At some point, I started paying attention to the words of the song and was pulled in by the convo he painted himself having with God. I loved it.
tv off
★★★☆
“MUSTAAAAAAAAARD!”
notes: there goes that West Coast sound I spoke about. at this point, it became difficult for me to differentiate between the songs because they all sounded so similar. the switch up mid-song was necessary. plus, the absurd DJ Mustard shoutout woke everybody up, I’m sure.
dodger blue
★★☆
notes: filler music.
peakaboo
★★
notes: this wasn’t a bad song at all. it had a playful vibe and tempted me to sing along. the rating is low because i was bored. at least four songs before this one sounded exactly the same. Lizzo made me like the “hey hey hey hey" part though, so that’s something to look forward to if i ever revisit this album.
heart (pt. 6)
★★★★☆
notes: Evidently, I’m not a diehard Kendrick fan. I appreciate the talent but I don’t keep up with all his music. This being 1 of 6 parts, I’ve never heard the other 5, so I don’t know if all other parts have a similar interpolation of SWV’s “Use Your Heart”. BUT I adore the interpolation very much. The soft melodies added a new, much-needed layer to the project, giving us a break from the same old sound and content we had been listening to thus far. I really loved this one.
gnx
★★★
I genuinely don’t remember this track, so here’s what I wrote while listening:
“title track. what’s this about? ok has a vibe so far…”
gloria
★★★
notes: once again, shameless bias because, SZA. her voice complements this song beautifully. the lyrics are cool.
top 5
luther
squabble up
heart (pt. 6)
man in the mirror
reincarnated
Overall: 6.5/10
Final thoughts:
The timing of this surprise album was perfect. Alongside Drake, Metro Boomin’, Future, and a few other colluding voices, Kendrick created one of the most memorable moments in music this year with a major rap beef, and was just announced the performer at the 2025 Super Bowl’s half time show. Why not add to the fire with some new music?
However, this is not a project I see myself returning to in its entirety. I can appreciate a few songs and have definitely revisited some since my first listen, but as a full body of work, it’s … boring. I was surprised to hear Kendrick Lamar of all people falling into the slump; a far-too-common phenomenon where it feels like an artist’s album is just one very long song— everything indifferentiable.
Bias aside; being the only singer on the album, SZA encouraged a break from the monotony of the project where even the overall composition of both songs she was on was refreshingly different. Both soft, both melodious, both about love; a world away from most of the other songs where everything felt the same.
At this point of his career, Kendrick obviously can do no wrong. He has a ferocious fanbase that is ready to not only defend him, but to justify him even when he needs no justification. He no longer has anything to prove and is free to do whatever he wants, really. Fun and memeable moments aside, the project as a whole was just a bit lacklustre for me.
Once again, I have zero connection to the American West Coast. I don’t deny that the direction of the project could have been something special to someone who does, nor do I intend to invalidate that. But from the outside listening in, it fell flat in totality.
How about you? What are/were your thoughts on Kendrick’s latest album?