During the summer, rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar had everyone saying “They not like us,” but for the winter season, he has everyone screaming “Mustard.”
On Nov. 22, Lamar released “GNX,” his first album since “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers,” which came out in 2022. The album features a total of 12 songs.
This album did not see much promotion, and it seemed to come out of nowhere. The only indication that it would drop occurred when Lamar posted a teaser for the album on Instagram a few minutes before it was released.
Lamar is widely regarded as a lyrical genius, and he continues to demonstrate that with this album. He has bars like “Peekaboo, I just put them boogers in my chain, peekaboo, 80 pointers like a Kobe game,” referencing Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors. The lyric could be seen as another jab at Drake, a Toronto native who Lamar has been involved in ongoing public discourse with.
All 12 songs are very good, however, a select few stand out more than others: “squabble up,” “wacced out murals,” “luther,” “tv off,” “peekaboo” and “dodger blue.”
The various artists featured on the album take it above and beyond. SZA, who has collaborated with Lamar before, makes appearances on both “luther” and “gloria.” She and Lamar’s chemistry shows throughout these songs; the two know how to make good music together.
Roddy Ricch, who is known for hits such as “The Box” and “Ballin’," makes an appearance on “dodger blue.”
The other notable artists featured on the album do their parts as well.
During the album’s opening week, it received 363 million streams on Spotify, according to Yahoo. Many of the songs have already been used in various ways, like the NBA on TNT using “tv off” as a cut to its commercials during games it airs.
“Tv off” has also gained notoriety for Lamar screaming “Mustard” in reference to one of the music producers on the song.
I believe that this album is better than “Mr. Moral & The Big Steppers” — it just does more. “GNX” holds its ground among other Lamar albums and adds to his degree of greatness.
What’s next for Lamar, we do not know, but for now we will keep screaming “Mustard.”
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Rodney Prunty is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @rprunty05
