American hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar shocked fans when he unexpectedly released his sixth studio album “GNX,” Nov. 22. Expectations were high for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper, with the new release following both the commercial and critical successes of his last five albums, including the renowned “good kid, m.A.A.d city” and “To Pimp a Butterfly.” Fortunately, Lamar did not disappoint.

Lamar has had a successful year so far, in part thanks to his popular singles like “Not Like Us” and “Euphoria” — in response to his feud with fellow rap artist Drake — and his announcement as the Super Bowl 2025 Halftime Show performer. “Not Like Us” was the most streamed rap song of 2024 and became the track with the most weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart of all time. Despite their success, neither “Euphoria” nor “Not Like Us” were on the album.

Lamar opens the album with “wacced out murals,” a song that starts with a sample of Mariachi singer Deyra Barrera singing a melody in Spanish. Her voice is woven into the album in later songs like “reincarnated” and the closing track, “gloria.” The first track establishes the major themes Lamar explores in the rest of the album, namely self-empowerment and coming to terms with fame and success.

The album is expertly crafted, alternating between high-energy songs with intense beats and introspective songs that emphasize Lamar’s superior lyricism. The transitions often link two dissimilar songs, such as the upbeat “squabble up” — which begins with heavy breathing and a synth beat drop — into the soft and harmonic “luther,” featuring SZA.

The album maintains a high level of quality throughout, but “man at the garden,” “reincarnated” and “tv off” particularly stand out. In the fourth track, “man at the garden,” Lamar’s cadence is akin to a jazz solo, building until the intensity is nearly unbearable, and ending with the line “tell me why you think you deserve the greatest of all time, motherf——r.” Throughout “man at the garden,” Lamar repeats the phrase “I deserve it all,” establishing his self-worth and declaring what he believes his family deserves. This desperate, yearning repeated phrase evokes his song “united in grief” on his last album “Mr Morale & the Big Steppers,” where he repeats the line “I grieve different” in a similar manner.

In an ode to Lamar’s older music style, “reincarnated” brings back the rich story-telling and intense flow of his previous album, “To Pimp A Butterfly.” At one point, he raps as though he is talking to his father, yearning for his approval. Several other songs provide the same sense of story-telling, such as “heart part 6” and “gloria.” 

The seventh track, “tv off” sharply contrasts the previously mentioned songs, with an upbeat tempo that simultaneously spews a deeper message of the dangers of modern-day media. Lamar brings back producer Dijon Isaiah McFarlane — professionally known as Mustard — for this song, with whom he previously worked on “Not Like Us.” 

The weakest song on the album is “dodger blue.” While the track opens promisingly with a thumping bass line groove, Lamar’s delivery is lacking, sounding too much like contemporary rap artists with an overly melodic, monotone sound. Ironically, this sound is reminiscent of Drake’s music.

Throughout the album, Lamar experiments with different rhythms and tones, sometimes reverting back to the grizzlier style of his previous albums, sometimes leaning into more modern styles like in “dodger blue” and taking on a breathier tone in the title track.

Famous saxophonist Kamasi Washington was credited in the production staff, who previously worked with Lamar on the critically acclaimed, jazz-influenced album “To Pimp A Butterfly.” Interestingly, however, most of the album was produced with the help of renowned producer Jack Antonoff. Antonoff is extremely well-known in the pop music world, producing for famous artists like Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey, but lacking that same prestige in the rap community. 

While this album doesn’t quite reach the level of his magnum opus, “To Pimp A Butterfly,” “GNX” isn’t supposed to be on that level — and it shouldn’t have to be. “GNX” is still a phenomenal album worthy of acclaim and rightfully earns its place in the Lamar canon.