We all woke up this morning expecting just a regular Friday, but we really should've woken up looking for the broccoli. Who knew that Kendrick Lamar was going to cap off a legendary 2024 with a brand new surprise album, GNX? No one – not even his label, apparently – so maybe we shouldn't be too hard on ourselves. Nevertheless, fans quickly moved past their shock and listened to the new project in full, and needless to say, there are a lot of strong reactions. The West Coast bounces on many of these songs, plus the fiery performances from K.Dot on the mic, had many thinking that this was one of his best rap showings ever.
However, others weren't impressed by some of the softer moments on the album or felt that Kendrick Lamar was doing too much vocally to engage. Some were very appreciative of the more roots-driven and fundamental hip-hop production all over GNX, whereas others felt like these were just pop-centric jams that didn't have any artistic value. With all that out of the way, though, the reception to this new album is an overall positive one. It's Kendrick; how could it not get high praise when his quality standard is so high and consistent?
Kendrick Lamar Fans React To GNX
Elsewhere, some fans instead looked to the lyrical matter of Kendrick Lamar's pen here, appreciating his boisterous energy and also his conceptual and narrative gifts. Others don't really want to hear him yap about all this stuff, but his rapping is probably what's getting the least amount of undue hate online right now, so that's a small minority. Still, it's only been a couple of hours since GNX came out, so let's not get ahead of ourselves. There are '90s albums that don't get the classic conversations they deserve; let's not let recency bias trip us out.
More Reactions
At the same time, the Drake beef means that there will always be a lot of negativity towards both him and Kendrick Lamar no matter what they do. In fact, it's interesting to discern who's really critical of GNX and who isn't even trying to hide their OVO bias. The same goes for pgLang heads, but that's a story for another time. Check out more reactions to this new album down below.