Two years since the release of Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Kendrick Lamar has released his sixth studio album, GNX. It is for the culture,  which is exactly what the 37-year-old rapper has been promoting since late April With numerous underground LA rappers, Lamar revives the West Coast sound with a mix of G-funk, hyphy, and groovy R&B. It’s music for the people, by the people. 2024 has already been a great year for hip hop with  projects like Tyler, The Creator’s Chromokopia, Future & Metro Boomin’s We Don’t Trust You, and Doechii’s Alligator Bites Never Heal, which have all been critically acclaimed as top albums of the year. But arguably, it’s been an even greater year for Lamar. During spring of this year, Lamar’s decade-long feud with 38-year-old Toronto rapper, Drake, was at its public peak, with Lamar releasing iconic songs of the year such as “euphoria,” “meet the grahams,” and, “Not Like Us.” After a whirlwind of back-to-back tracks for over a month, on June 19, Lamar held a one-off concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, CA named The Pop Out: Ken & Friends. The concert was a legendary performance that promoted West Coast rappers including Dom Kennedy, YG, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, and Ab-Soul. Most memorably, at the end of the concert, underground rappers, legendary rappers, and people from the LA-Compton community united on stage. On September 8, after The Pop Out, it was announced Lamar would perform at the Super Bowl LIX half-time show. The announcement sparked controversy, as some believed the New Orleans legend, Lil Wayne deserved to perform instead. Three days later, Lamar posted a single on his Instagram titled “Watch the Party Die.” Lamar raps over a somber, contemplative sample curated by Jack Antonnoff and Sounwave, lamenting his frustrations with the materialism and crime that has taken over hip-hop culture. These critiques echoed his frustrations with Drake. After months of speculation about when Lamar would drop another album, on the morning of November 22, to everyone’s surprise, GNX was released. Featuring LA-native rappers like AZChikke, Hitta J3, and Wallie the Siete7x, GNX models Lamar’s goal to make music for the people, by the people. This album is a response to Lamar’s frustration with the rap genre no longer being in touch with its roots. Rap’s roots were created out of Black political struggle and was a creative way of lamenting oppression; the overall focus of rap was always to create music that was made for the Black and Brown community by the Black and Brown community, which is why Lamar’s latest album feels like homage to hip hop once again. GNX takes a step back from Lamar’s usual hour-long albums with emotionally layered lyricism. Like his fourth studio album, DAMN, GNX is a sequence of mainstream hits  with clever and sometimes humorous plays on words. The energy of each track builds as you continue to listen; about half of the 44-minute length album takes on a new sound that mixes synthesized 90’s G-funk sound with a bass-heavy hyphy sound. GNX’s second track, “squabble up“ starts with the well-awaited intro from Lamar’s Not Like Us music video while also sampling the classic techno tune “When I Hear Music” by Debbie Deb.  Much of Lamar’s lyricism in this album is a classic braggadocious assertiveness of being the best in the rap game. This approach in Lamar’s lyricism is at its best when he’s bragging about being on a higher spiritual and mental level than his competitors, whom he claims are consumed by wealth and crime which is evident in the music industry’s string of sexual misconducts. As of recent, many music fans are speculating a #MeToo movement within the music industry is happening after the numerous and heinous allegations of Sean “Diddy” Combs. In songs like “hey now,” “peekaboo,” and “tv off,” Lamar disses unnamed artists for being involved in criminal activity ultimately ruining the “rap game.”  Many times it feels like Lamar is teasing these unnamed music artists as he raps hilarious lines such as: “Few solid n***as left, but it’s not enough / Few b***hes that’ll really step, but it’s not enough” after which he gives an unexpected yell of “MUSTAAARD!” shouting out the LA-based DJ, DJ Mustard. Ultimately, it feels like Lamar is just having fun, flexing that he knows he’s what the culture is feeling. Like Lamar mentions in “euphoria”: “And notice, I said “we, ” it’s not just me, I’m what the culture feelin’”. A signature part of any Kendrick Lamar album is an introspective track that reveals his past ways versus. his current self such as “ELEMENT,” “Good Kid,” or one of his older songs, “Kush & Corinthians (His Pain).” Aside from his upbeat songs, GNX taps back into the clever lyricism and storytelling that he’s known for. “reincarnated,”, the sixth track on GNX, which samples the West Coast legend Tupac Shakur’s “Made N***az,” is Lamar receiving judgment from God about whether he’s using his power and fame for good, or to continue another cycle of selling out and abuse. As usual, Lamar is always able to put his inner battles and outward contradictions on display in a way that is relatable and humanistic. Lamar raps in “reincarnated”: “So can you promise that you won’t take your gifts for granted? / I promise that I’ll use my gifts to bring understanding”. In the “heart pt.6,” the well-awaited sixth part of Lamar’s The Heart series  has a 90s conscious hip hop feeling – most likely from its sampling of SWV’s “Use Your Heart.” Rather than using the track to criticize the industry or his own internal struggles like the rest of the series, Lamar executes the 90’s consciousness feeling by looking back at his first inspirations in hip-hop from Ab-Soul, and also revealing the failure of former Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) rap group, Black Hippy.  One of the strongest tracks out of GNX is “luther,” featuring SZA. The sample, from  “If This World Were Mine” by Cheryl Lynn and the late Luther Vandross, is utilized primarily in the background. However, Lamar and SZA’s voices almost recreate the same beautiful duo Lynn and Vandross had, flipped into a perfect West Coast R&B harmony to play out of a drop-top. The track emphasizes Lamar’s versatility as an artist as he recreates past classics into new ones. Another standout aspect of the album is Lamar’s use of the Los Angeles-based mariachi singer, Deyra Barrera. Barrera was invited into the studio after Lamar heard her tribute to the late Dodgers pitcher, Fernando Valenzuela, during the first game of the 2024 World Series. Barrera delivers three beautiful short Spanish verses in “wacced out murals,” “reincarnated,” and “gloria,” singing:  “Siento aquí tu presencia / La noche de anoche / Y nos ponemos a llorar / Que reflejan tu mirada / La noche, tú y yo / Sentado, Anita y tú.” Lamar’s newest album is a must-listen! Using his LA community for the album, Lamar has absolutely brought the culture back to hip-hop with his  artistic ability of uniting the community, while also lamenting his past ways and finding a way to overcome them. Cydney Macon is the Editor in Chief and Staff Writer at The Triton The post GNX: A Homage and Revival of the Rap Genre appeared first on The Triton.