American rap heavyweight Kendrick Lamar surprised his world on Friday, by releasing an unforeseen new album, in which he mentions his clash with his competitor Drake, which marked the musical year 2024.
Titled “GNX”, like one of the models of the Buick car brand, with which he poses on the cover, the album has 12 tracks.
From the opening track, the American West Coast star alludes to the rivalry between him and Drake. He criticizes veteran Snoop Dogg for sharing on Instagram a humiliating title from the Canadian against him.
Long confined to a fairly conventional war of words, the enmity between Kendrick Lamar and Drake took an acid turn at the beginning of the year. The two stars have multiplied the “diss tracks”, these pieces designed to ridicule the opponent, with resounding accusations.
Winner of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize, Kendrick Lamar notably implied that Drake would have had sexual relations with minors and accused the mixed-race Canadian rapper of being a “colonizer” of black American culture.
For his part, Drake suggested that infidelities, even abuse, tainted the relationship between Kendrick Lamar and his fiancée.
“GNX” is Kendrick Lamar’s first album since “Mr Morale & The Big Steppers” released in 2022 and which earned him three Grammy Awards, out of the 17 won during his career.
In his new opus, the rapper from Compton, a famous disadvantaged suburb of Los Angeles, also discusses his upcoming performance during the next Super Bowl in February 2025.
He will headline the halftime concert for this annual high mass of American football, which will take place in New Orleans. A choice that caused a little controversy among rap fans: some felt that rapper Lil Wayne, a native of the city, should have been the star of the event.
In his new song “Wacced Out Murals”, Kendrick Lamar pays tribute to the Louisiana rapper, explaining that he used to listen to one of his songs. But “ironically, I think my hard work hurt Lil Wayne,” he says.
