An Uninspired Opinion on Last Year's Biggest Beef
Food for Thought
Toronto and Compton. Cold and Warm. Snow and Sunshine. Aubrey ‘Drake’ Graham’s and Kendrick Lamar Duckworth’s upbringings could not have been more different. One is the offspring of a family of entertainers, the other the child of a hustler and a hairdresser. Both made a name for themselves, both are successful in their own right, and both have an ego and a chip on their shoulder. Their clash had the world watching, and when the dust settled, it became clear that the lush breeze and nodding palm trees of southern California had brought forth a coldhearted rapper capable of both having a public therapy session on a song and dissecting an opponent’s brand and private life the next day.
Everything after that point was Kendrick Lamar’s victory lap, from his “Pop-Out” concert on Juneteenth to the stunning video for “Not Like Us” released on July 4th. While the themes and visuals packed into these 6 minutes were enough to send grown men into a frenzy of fanboy-ish excitement, the video, much like the one for Lamar’s immortal hit “Alright”, opened on a snippet from a completely different song. This and many media reports of him “being back in the studio” led to wild speculations over a new album. On November 22nd, the fans got what they had hoped for when “GNX” hit streaming services.
Internet music aficionados in particular had long held a grudge against Drake’s unmatched financial success, preferring Lamar’s (both self- and socially) conscious rap over Graham’s discography. While much of it fares better in the club or as background music, Kendrick undoubtedly won the headphone test and was therefore praised by the media, by critics, politicians, and especially the dreaded music snobs.
Liking Kendrick, for the longest time, was not just a common opinion; it was straight up “taste signaling”. The fields these two Hip-Hop titans occupied were clear: Drake’s music was shallow, easily forgettable, and mass produced, while Kendrick was layered, thought out, and well… just better. So what happens when the latter seemingly employs the methods of the former? You get “GNX”.
It’s no secret that Kendrick Lamar usually takes his sweet time when working on studio albums. 1855 days; that is how long it took him to release “Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers” in 2022. “DAMN.”, its predecessor, took two years, as did 2015s “To Pimp a Butterfly”. The only notable exception in this trend is the gap between “Section.80” and “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City”, which spanned a little more than a year.
While the former was well received in 2011, it was by no means treated as the timeless classic it is seen as today. Its follow-up is an almost perfect album, maybe the best of Lamar's career, and was rightfully received as such upon release. “Backseat Freestyle” perfectly encapsulates Kendrick’s hunger for success and recognition, and, on an album that has more thoughtful songs like “The Art of Peer Pressure” and “Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst”, serves as a great reminder that he still is a rapper at heart. This same hunger seemed to have died down over the following years, though, with “TPAB”, “DAMN.” and “Mr. Morale” all seeming to be freed from Lamar’s burden of having to prove himself as an industry great.
Fans therefore rejoiced when “Like That” hit streaming in March this year. This appeared to be the old Kendrick, taking plenty of shots and no prisoners. Gone were the days of humility and Zen-like calmness; the hunger had returned. In the song’s most famous line, he dismisses the idea that Drake and J.Cole could even be put in the same conversation as him, asserting himself as “Big Me”.
The beef this song started seemed over before it had even started, and few were surprised when “Not Like Us” put an end to one of the most stunning runs of diss tracks Hip Hop had seen up to date. One might have thought that the hunger was satiated, that Kendrick had once and for all proved that he was the “Top Dawg”. One would have been wrong. Lamar went on a triumphant victory lap, crowned with the release of his “hungriest” album to date — “GNX”.
The title alludes to the 1987 Buick Grand National Experimental shown on the cover, the model Kendrick’s father used to drive him home from the hospital after he was born. This album is a muscle car: loud, eye-raising, unapologetic. “squabble up”, “tv off”, and “peekaboo” all fit comfortably into this mold, which Lamar had been perfecting for years with songs like the aforementioned “Backseat Freestyle”, “The Blacker The Berry” and that probably reached its highest highs on “HUMBLE.” and “DNA.”
Their counterparts on “GNX” certainly have insatiable energy and drive, but they are inferior to the “bangers” off Kendrick’s previous albums in one key aspect. While at first glance they seem to be mindless rap anthems designed to blow out the speakers of a car, a closer reading of the lyrics and the context of the album reveals a number of layers that make these songs both greatly enjoyable and enriching. “Backseat Freestyle” is a glimpse into the mind of a young adult who grew up in the titular “mad city”, while “The Blacker the Berry” is an incredibly sophisticated exploration of black double consciousness, systemic racism, and inner city violence.
“HUMBLE.”, ironically Kendrick’s financially most successful song, might be the least layered of the bunch, while “DNA.” once again gives listeners a glimpse into his mind, grappling with his own media coverage as a 21st century Black artist. The more aggressive songs on “GNX” notably lack those layers. The lyrics are sharp and witty, the beats are handpicked and complement the mood of the songs perfectly, but all of it is purely less conscious.
What about the slower, more thoughtful cuts, though? After all, these might have always been Lamar’s greatest strength as a songwriter. The opening, “wacced out murals”, claims Kendrick’s spot at the top of the rap food chain while still including some notable thoughts on his contemporaries. In one of the more famous lines of the song, he takes a shot at Lil’ Wayne while alluding to J. Cole’s legendary “Let Nas Down”. He goes on to say that “this [the song and/or the album] is not for lyricists…”, ditching double entendres for raw emotional impact. He certainly has a point, as the album's lyrics can hardly hold a candle to those found in much of his earlier work.
Kendrick’s self-asserting tone continues in “man at the garden”, where he continually repeats the phrase “I deserve it all” while describing all the good he has enjoyed throughout the year. This self-aggrandizing sentiment continues through “reincarnated”, which uses a sample by 2Pac, a personal hero of Lamar, and an artist he has frequently been compared to. On the song, he puts himself into the shoes of Blues icon John Lee Hooker and, most likely, legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday, before once again exploring the psyche of the man he is today. The song calls upon a rich history of Black music in America, an artistic tradition whose most famous and recognized part today might just be Lamar himself. The lyrics are, however, very notably self-centered, with Kendrick putting himself in a line of artists that did not just shape Black music but American music as a whole. Despite holding onto a valid point, one is left asking where he stored his humility.
Song “the heart pt. 6”, on the other hand, is a true gem and one of the albums brightest spots, with Kendrick recalling his humble career beginnings and his time on the Hip-Hop supergroup “Black Hippy” that eventually failed due to creative differences between Lamar and fellow members Jay-Rock, ScHoolboyQ and Ab-Soul. The “the heart” series has been a guarantee for great songs, and part 6 is no different. All in all, the more sophisticated songs on “GNX” do certainly hold food for thought for those inclined to read between the lines.
Between the “bangers” and reflective pieces, the album also features several more pop-oriented songs. 2024 was quite a fitting year for Kendrick to once again dip his toes in the waters of mainstream music, as artists like Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, and Sabrina Carpenter had the online zeitgeist in a chokehold in 2024. Taylor’s longtime producer, Jack Antonoff, worked on the production of the album and is credited on multiple songs. Lamar got even more mainstream support from fellow TDE-signee and collaborator SZA, whose silky smooth yet expressive vocals go exceptionally well with the more laid-back, melodic beats they chose for their latest endeavors.
“Gloria” is not just a heartfelt song about a woman in Kendrick's life, but it can also be read as an exploration of his relationship with fame and glory. Track “luther” is not as lyrically thought out, but it’s a catchy beat that samples R’n’B legend Luther Vandross’ “If This World Were Mine”. Here, SZA’s vocals make the chorus stick to the listener’s mind like only a great pop song can. These two are certainly here to stay, as they have already announced a tour that will see them perform all throughout the US in 2025.
“Dodger Blue” featuring Roddy Rich, Siete7x, and Wally the Sensei, a classic hometown anthem for Los Angeles, is probably the purest pop track on this record. Kendrick’s first part is quite uninspired at times, so it’s the melodic vocals of his guests that make the song shine like the sun of Southern California. The more mainstream-oriented songs on the album do not feel inauthentic, however, as their inclusion seems to be another shot in Drake's direction.
For years, Drake carved out multiple artistic molds, all particularly appealing to some part of a wider audience. Incorporating influences from British Grime and Atlanta Trap into his verses and beats, cultivating a coherent but hardly novel persona as a gangster and hustler who bragged and boasted over hard-hitting 808s. Songs like “Scorpion,” “Jimmy Cooks,” “Jumpman,” and “Wants and Needs” all deserve credit in their own right for being skillfully crafted with expert personnel supporting Drake.
Then comes the club persona; drawing from Afrobeat, Reggaeton, Dancehall, and House, this niche of his work is displayed on songs like “One Dance,” “Get It Together,” “NOKIA,” and “Sticky.” These songs catch listeners with catchy hooklines, engaging rhythms, and they hold up well both as party songs and as more mainstream-oriented cuts without a lot of the aggression and braggadocio of his classic Trap output.
There is a third persona, an early fan favorite that always seemed like Drake at his most himself. On “Marvin’s Room,” “Circadian Rhythm” or “Passionfruit,” he is at his most vulnerable, letting the listener in on his struggles from fame and love. All of these sides combine to make Drake into a versatile artist whose Midas touch keeps every facet marketable and appealing to a wider audience, a skill that previously eluded Kendrick’s sophisticated but challenging works.
“GNX” is more coherent, more precise, and more focused than most of Drake’s albums, which have long been criticized for their inconsistency and their proneness to include filler tracks to boost streaming numbers. Nevertheless, Drake’s highest highs still outshine Kendrick’s in his attempts to lean more into a simple and catchy mainstream sound.
GNX unsurprisingly found itself near the top of plenty of year-end lists in 2024. Lamar's special standing with music critics made sure he would have his praises sung in many articles all over the landscape of music publications. While some of these praises were deserved, the album's overall perception half a year after its release has shifted more towards the stance of Pitchfork’s or Time Magazine’s reviews.
GNX is a good album, enjoyable, catchy, loud, and unapologetic. It is also thematically slim and lacks the sophistication, the innovation, the attention to detail, and the disregard for musical boundaries that characterize Lamar’s strongest works. “GNX” is by no means his worst album (that title likely belongs to “Section.80”), but it can not hold a candle to the strongest entries in his discography. With Kendrick stepping out of the spotlight ever since the end of 2024, fans can only hope for a return to his usual otherworldly form on his next project.
