The New West 2
A gritty, unpolished compilation of raw freestyles and early 2010s West Coast anthems. Dusty boom-bap loops meet hungry, relentless lyricism.
A gritty, unpolished compilation of raw freestyles and early 2010s West Coast anthems. Dusty boom-bap loops meet hungry, relentless lyricism.
Mixtape document
A raw, unvarnished mixtape energy crackles through these loose freestyle sessions and radio-style takeovers.
A fierce, unshakeable sense of being confident surges through these tracks, replacing the artist's usual self-interrogation with the pure, competitive joy of a lyricist who knows he cannot be touched on the microphone.
Critics broadly admired the album's hard-hitting, danceable production and its thoughtful balance of spiritual themes with celebratory street anthems. While reviewers warmly embraced this shift toward a more loving and localized West Coast sound, some questioned whether the persistent focus on his recent run of success became a bit repetitive.
“Fresh from his feud with Drake, the US hip-hop star’s latest album finds him on imperious form”Read review
“While some songs on this album get drowned out by the grandiosity of its goals, the project – and the man behind it – are as strong as ever. GNX is the blueprint for a new rap zeitgeist, and all we can do is hope that everyone gets the cue”Read review
“He embraces his dual identities of spiritualist and block thumper”Read review
“Kendrick’s glossy, hyper-local sixth album arrives after a year of unimpeachable victories. The question is, how much do you enjoy watching him take lap after lap?”Read review
“The emcee’s sixth studio album sees him embrace and expand on his vision of fatherhood”Read review
“The Compton rapper’s masterful sixth LP is a surreal, hypnotizing, danceable trip through a hip-hop prophet’s own ego death and immediate, braggadocious, finessing renewal”Read review
“After a year full of scathing diss tracks and unfiltered loathing, Lamar converts that energy into the purest emotion of all – love – while carrying the West Coast on his back”Read review
“Things get crazy, scary, spooky and hilarious on the Compton rapper’s triumphant new record”Read review
“In a discography as impressive as Lamar’s, GNX stands as a major highlight, sitting comfortably in the upper echelon of a rarefied body of work”Read review
“A truly remarkable feat and already one of the best rap records all year, proving once again that Kendrick continues to operate at a level all to himself”Read review
“There is no Big Three. There never really was. There’s just Kendrick Lamar, and then there’s everyone else”Read review
“Kendrick’s most speaker-knocking set to date”Read review
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