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Kendrick Lamar Drops New Album ‘GNX’ Mere Hours After Its Announcement

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at FSU chapter.

Rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar has dropped a brand new album! Titled GNX, the album was a complete surprise for Lamar’s fans after the cover was posted on the rapper’s Instagram page and released on music streaming platforms such as Spotify.

GNX has already gained tons of attention as listeners flocked to their respective streaming platforms to hear Lamar’s warring words following his lyrical battle with rapper and singer Drake, which escalated earlier this year.

Lamar’s been known for his lack of predictability, consistently dropping music that has met and exceeded the expectations of his fanbase. One of his many unexpected releases was a diss track titled “Not Like Us,” which was released during his feud with Drake in May. The song even managed to clinch five 2025 Grammy Award nominations despite its being written amidst a fight between two artists.

album Overview

Lamar’s new album was released as his sixth studio album and the first released since he left the record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE).

With 12 different songs, many with features, GNX has quickly gained recognition despite its release being entirely unpredictable. While not explicitly listing any of the featured artists on the songs’ titles, many of them include vocal and production assistance from relevant figures, including singer-songwriter SZA on “luther” and “gloria.’’ In addition, the song “reincarnated” samples a song by rapper Tupac.

On the day of the album release, Lamar dropped a 1-minute video titled “GNX,” teasing the new album that would be released later. Since then, sparks have begun to fly again as listeners have pointed out a few disses within the songs.

So far, only a few names have been mentioned, but fans have begun to notice the personality and emotion in the album as well. Different from Lamar’s recent disses against Drake, GNX speaks a lot about his successes as an artist, occasionally calling out people such as rapper Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne voiced an issue with being snubbed from performing at the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show in February 2025, as Lamar was selected.

Lamar has already managed to become the hot topic in just one day with his surprise drop of GNX. Already, people have begun comparisons between Drake’s desperation for publicity on his recent album releases and Lamar’s nonchalance about releasing an album without warning.

As a respected and renowned artist in the rap community, a 2018 Pulitzer Prize winner, fiancé, and father, Kendrick Lamar continues to shake up the music community with his creativity and unique voice. If we keep our fingers crossed, maybe this musical mastermind will confirm the speculations of a tour following his performance at the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show!

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Hi! I'm a freshman and first year member of the Florida State University chapter of HerCampus! During my free time I enjoy writing, reading (I'm obsessed with fantasy novels), volunteering, singing, working with animals, playing soccer, and researching anything scientific. I love delving into pop-culture in my writing but, I am a STEM girlie, so I do adore integrating a little scientific journalism into my routine! I'm a current undergraduate Biology major and I plan on potentially double majoring in EWC!! My future goal is to attend med school and become a surgeon but, I definitely want to keep up with writing as it is a passion of mine.