Every week, Consequence'yes The Songs of the Week column highlights quality new tunes from the past seven days and discusses notable releases. Find our new favorites and more in our Top songs playlist and to see other great songs from emerging artists, check out our New sounds playlist. This week, Kendrick Lamar takes aim at everyone in his “lackluster murals.”
I'm not sure if you've heard, but Kendrick Lamar has a new album out. is called GNX and it arrived this morning without prior notice. Isn't that something? Who could have seen it coming? Not Father John Mistythat's for sure…
If you're like us, you rushed to stream the record as soon as you heard the news. You found that cool photo of Lamar leaning on his car in a matter of seconds and pressed play on track one, “they painted the murals.” Then, after about half a minute of admiring the crazy production and Deyra Barrera's introductory vocals, you realized: Oh shit, K.Dot is mad. Like, really fucking angry..
We should have known that would be the case. He spent most of the year venting his anger through his feud with Drake, subsequently (and perhaps accidentally) achieving the rare feat of fostering a moment of monoculture in the 21st century. Whether he was addressing Aubrey's family members directly or getting baseball stadiums to vibrate Until a diss track where he unambiguously calls Drake a pedophile, Lamar wasn't exactly delivering carefree melodies.
So how do you kick off what will easily go down as one of the most talked about albums of 2024? Making one point clear: fuck all. “All this talk is done by bitches, that's up to my Lord/ I'll kill them all before I let them kill my joy,” he raps in his first verse. “It used to be fuck that black, but now it's plural/Fuck y'all, that's in my body.”
Over a punchy and surprisingly minimalist beat (at least compared to the compositions on his previous projects), Lamar lays out what has him so excited and what he's going to do about it. And it's not just Drake who's in his crosshairs, as he slams J. Cole for waving the meat in the first place, criticizes Snoop Dog for posting Drake's AI-enhanced song “Taylor Made Freestyle,” and addresses Lil Wayne's reaction. to Lamar securing the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. As he said, “it's plural now.”
It's an exciting and intensely confrontational way to start. GNXone that prepares the listener for the rest of the exciting and intensely conflicting themes. Because if you thought “deleted murals” was just Lamar getting them out of his system, boy, are you in for a beating?
— Jonah Krueger
Editorial Coordinator
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