6 things to know about Kendrick Lamar’s GNX

Kendrick Lamar shocked the music world on Friday, November 22, when he released GNX. Comprising 12 new tracks, Lamar’s latest studio album arrived with pratically zero advance warning and comes mere months after the culmination of his memorable back-and-forth with Drake earlier this year.

Here are six things you need to know about GNX.

In 1987 (the same year Kendrick was born), Buick released the Grand National GNX. The GNX could go from 0-60 MPH in under five seconds and were extremely limited edition. Kendrick can be seen standing next to the GNX on the album artwork with the parallels between himself and the vehicle clear for anyone to see.

GNX features a song called “Heart Pt. 6,” the sixth entry in Lamar’s “The Heart” series. Drake tried to hijack the series earlier this year by releasing his own “The Heart Part 6.” On his new song, Lamar samples SWV and talks openly about his former label and mentors Top Dawg Entertainment, plus the Black Hippy crew he formed with label mates Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, and Ab-Soul. The heart series has traditionally featured standalone singles, generally released to indicate the imminent arrival of a studio album. “The Heart Part 6” represents the first time one of the songs has debuted as part of a project since “The Heart Part 2” featured on 2010 mixtape Overly Dedicated.

Kendrick references his upcoming appearance at the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show on the opening track, “wacced out murals,” a spot that some felt should have gone to Lil Wayne, what with the game taking place in New Orleans. Kendrick doesn’t agree, naturally.

“I used to bump Tha Carter 3,” he raps on the song. “I held my Rollie chain proud / Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down. Got the Super Bowl and Nas the only one congratulate me, all these niggas agitated, I’m just glad it’s on they faces.”

GNX is largely a back-to-basics album without many features. SZA appears on two tracks (“luther” and “gloria”) with Sam Dew providing vocals on “squabble up,” “luther,” “man at the garden,” “hey now,” “reincarnated,” “dodger blue,” and “gloria.” Mariachi singer Deyra Barrera is featured on three GNX tracks: “wacced out murals,” “reincarnated,” and “gloria.”

The other rappers on the album mainly being figures from the underground. Dody 6 has a verse on “hey now,” AzChike contributes a memorable verse on “peekaboo,” Wallie the Sensei can be heard on “dodger blue” while Hitta J3, Peysoh, and Young Threat are all credited on “gnx.”

Kendrick worked with a small circle of producers on the album, with the majority of tracks produced by his longtime collaborator Sounwave. Also listed on practically every song (bar “peekaboo”) is Jack Antonoff. The mega-producer has worked with pop stars including Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and Lorde but has relatively little in the way of rap credibility. Working on a Kendrick Lamar album is certainly one way to change that. Other producers credited on the album include Mustard, Terrace Martin, M-Tech, Kamasi Washington, and Dahi.

“reincarnated” samples Tupac’s 1996 song “Made Niggaz.” Drake famously ignited his and Kendrick’s beef by using an AI Tupac voice filter to create a diss track. Tupac’s estate was understandably upset and threatened legal action. What better way for Kendrick to respond than with an officially licensed sample and homage to the late, great rapper himself?