Kendrick Lamar has surprise released a brand new album ‘GNX’ – listen in full below.
The Compton rapper posted a link to the album on his social media pages at 5pm UK time on Friday (November 22), with the 12-track, 44-minute release now on all major music streaming platforms.
It is Lamar’s sixth studio album and first since 2022’s ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’, and features production from Jack Antonoff, Kamasi Washington, Mustard, Terrace Martin and Sounwave. It also includes uncredited guest vocals from SZA.
— Kendrick Lamar (@kendricklamar) November 22, 2024
The ‘GNX’ tracklist is:
- ‘Wacced Out Murals’
- ‘Squabble Up’
- ‘Luther’
- ‘Man At The Garden’
- ‘Hey Now’
- ‘Reincarnated’
- ‘TV Off’
- ‘Dodger Blue’
- ‘Peekaboo’
- ‘Heart Pt. 6’
- ‘GNX’
- ‘Gloria’
The album does not include ‘Not Like Us’ or any of the other tracks that arrived earlier this year as part of Kendrick’s high-profile beef with Drake.
‘GNX’ arrived as a surprise, although Lamar has spoken in recent months about a new album, including in an interview with SZA in October for Harper’s Bazaar. SZA went on to reshare a post from Devin Malik, an affiliate of Kendrick’s label Top Dawg Entertainment, which read: “Mood cause new k dot album otwwww”.
There had been speculation that Taylor Swift would appear on Lamar’s next album, with DJ Snake suggesting that the collaboration would take place, but the album does not have any credited guest spots. It does, however, feature uncredited guest vocals from SZA on the tracks ‘Luther’ and ‘Gloria’.
In September, Kendrick was named the headline performer for the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime show. “I don’t want you to miss it,” he said. “Meet me in New Orleans, February 9, 2025. Wear your best dress too, even if you’re watching from home. Let’s go.”
Last month, it was also reported that Kendrick had supposedly turned down an offer to headline Coachella next year.
Lamar also swept the BET Hip-Hop Awards in October, clinching eight of his 11 nominations including Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Lyricist of the Year and more.
‘Not Like Us’ became Lamar’s fourth Number One single earlier this year, and broke Spotify’s record for the most streams of a hip-hop song in one day. The track, which Snoop Dogg recently said “unified the West Coast”, has been described by Lamar as a song that reflects “the energy of who I am, the type of man I represent”.
In a five-star review of ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’, NME wrote: “While ‘good kid, m.A.A.d city’ showed the world what it’s like to grow up as a kid in Compton, his fifth album serves up vignettes about what it’s like to be a Black adult whose trauma still haunts them. In laying his soul bare, he hopes we realise how we can set ourselves free from generational curses too. This album is as much about struggle as it is freedom, and what a beautiful sentiment that is.”