Kendrick Lamar, seen here performing at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif. on June 19, dropped his sixth album, GNX on Friday, Nov. 22, without any advance warning.
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Timothy Norris/Getty Images
In 2024, Kendrick Lamar has put together one of the biggest years of his career: He was the undisputed winner of the highest-profile rap beef in years; he’s had a hit near the top of the pop charts for six months; he’s nominated for more than half a dozen Grammys, including song and record of the year; he’ll headline the halftime show at next year’s Super Bowl. All of this without releasing an album. At least until today.
At noon Eastern Time on Friday, Lamar dropped his sixth studio album, GNX. He did it without sharing a hint of its existence — no advance singles or videos or cryptic social media posts. (Not that it stopped fans from speculating.) GNX is Kendrick’s first full-length release since 2022’s Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers. The 12-track album features performances from mariachi singer Deyra Barrera, SZA and Dody6; producers include Jack Antonoff, Sounwave and Kamasi Washington.
Even before this surprise drop, Lamar was already on a roll.
In May, he capped his ferocious back-and-forth with rival Drake with the diss track “Not Like Us,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart twice — the week of its release as well as later, in July, when its video came out — and earned him several nods from the Recording Academy. On June 19, he hosted The Pop Up – Ken & Friends, a concert at the Forum in Los Angeles that was live-streamed by Amazon Music and featured cameos from some of the West Coast’s biggest rappers, from Roddy Ricch to Tyler, The Creator.
In September, it was announced that Lamar will return to the Super Bowl stage next year to headline the halftime show. “Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date. And I’ll be there to remind the world why,” he said in a statement. “They got the right one.”
In 2022, Kendrick performed “m.A.A.d City” and “Alright” at the Los Angeles hip-hop-focused halftime show led by Dr. Dre. That year, he had broken his five-year hiatus from the spotlight following 2017’s DAMN, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. GNX is Lamar’s first album since his departure from long-time label Top Dawg Entertainment. It was released under his own label, pgLang, via Interscope Records.
