Disclaimer: if reading isn’t your thing.. run away.

GNX at first glance is an album of slaps and just “gettin off”

But upon further inspection my theory is evolving about this project and its intended purpose. I recognize that the running trope about Kendrick fans is that they see something deeper where there actually is none and at the risk of doing exactly that, I’m laying out a plausible running scheme throughout this project. Bear with me a lil.

First let’s listen to Squabble up.. he starts it with “reincarnated”.. (as what?)

“I’m a stargazer” this should be cause for pause as Kendrick is a star so being a star gazer at his level doesn’t quite fit. So what is he saying? He’s reincarnated as a young artist (stargazer)

“I need all my babies”.. what? Well look at the album’s feature list. Then go on to listen to the song “reincarnated” He’s saying towards the end that he’s reincarnated as Kendrick and that he’s choosing to move with more unity to change the narrative for his people.

So who is he reincarnated as on this album? He’s reincarnated through the youth. He’s moving through the young eyes, going back to his gnx (car) wanting days and bringing his understanding with him to bridge the gap.

On Heart pt 6 he goes back to his days as one of them. Another young dude trying to figure the s*** out and giving them a story they can identify with.

The song GNX.. almost features him with nothing but who?…the youth saying they did it just as he says he did it. Almost as if his accomplishments are theirs as well. And it explains a little why he titled that song GNX and the album itself GNX. There is a point to that.. the point is the youth.

So there is significance to the car, to the feature list, the vibe selection (knowing the youth want to hear bops), to the motifs of reincarnation and the album title.

He wants to bring about power to the new generation and redeem them through walking in their shoes and giving them guidance..(Jesus saves gangsters too)

“a couple rules of engagement I’ma guide you”

(I’ma show you how to not fall victim to the dumb s*** in this game/in the world) being the overall point/message of the album.

Reincarnated
Poopin like a baby
Diaper full of stink somebody gotta change it

i hate everyone on this site

"So there is significance to the car, to the feature list, the vibe selection (knowing the youth want to hear bops), to the motifs of reincarnation and the album title."

Yeah its called westcoast and his roots you dumbass

You niggas dont even know the basic of the Buick nor even know how most of the album is a back n forth of LA and Bayarea Rap sounds, styles and lingo

Internet schizo backpack fans i hate all of you

Kendrick will never be able to get away with having just a normal album huh?

even on his most straightforward from the town album niggas gotta still muck it up

weirdoes blud

Please move these Kendrick Stan’s back to Reddit

r/freethinkers

Kendrick and social media ruined hip hop. It's clear as day to see for anyone with a functioning brain.

i think his narrative intention was reassuming his position as a leader in popular (and/or black) culture

but he's saying that he's gone through emotional process and understood that he could assume that position of leading the culture (a la 2015), now with far more humanity and consistent self-perspective with his own issues

he's a human leading humans and doing f***ed up human s*** unlike playing prophet on TPAB

i think this album proves the old kendrick has died and the new cloned kendrick is here.

"My present life is Kendrick Lamar
A rapper looking at the lyrics to keep you in awe"

this is the clone learning who he is. this proves this is a new kendrick

this is raw 5d information so be careful consuming it

reincarnated is him playing the perspective of the devil as he inhabits members of the music industry

Whatever though.. call me crazy

Everybody questionable.

GNX is an album that the real Kendrick would listen to, not the bs he was on a couple years ago with therapy skits and whatnot

I think Mr. Morale was more like a musical play than an album to really ride to

Its not that GNX isn't a deep album, but its not so wrapped in cryptic symbolism that needs to be 'decoded'. (at least not that I know of)

that's kinda why people swear this isn't the 'real' album, they wanted fuel for their youtube video essays & Kendrick just wanted to embrace the West coast being on top of the game.

I think certain bars like the stargazer one, "all my babies", etc have hidden meanings, but I think its more for him to know rather than a deep social message or calling these YNs his babies.

I’m open to the possibility of being wrong lol.

It’s a theory.

i don't think kendrick hates mr morale

Good read op
He do look like a kid wearing a wwe belt on the cover

I never said he hates it

Even I don't hate it, just think it's not as good as his other projects.
But my idea is that GNX would be more authentic to the real everyday version of him than Mr. Morale. and Mr. Morale would be more authentically him than TPAB.
On Mr. Morale he took the cape off, and with GNX, Kendrick put his Nationals hat back on

wasnt the bar i was star gazing, not ima stargazer?

Even if so.. he’s putting himself in the shoes of the him that was a star gazer..

Is he not?

honestly, you bring up a lot of good points, but you need to break it down further. Understand the metaphor that is "GNX", let me explain

Scroll down for tldr

First I’ll say that I really like the album a lot regardless of my critique. I still think Kendrick is arguably the greatest rapper of all time, but that doesn’t mean his social commentary always hits the mark, and that’s what I’m gonna focus on here. I don’t think he has some nefarious agenda or anything either, I believe he always had the best intentions, but had unfair expectations of what he could accomplish with the message in his art to achieve social change, which eventually led him down this path of a highly individualist COPE of his own perceived failure in bettering society.

There are some songs on the album where through deeply reflecting on his own personal experiences he actually did come to some great insights and points of social commentary, songs like Father Time, Mother I Sober and Auntie Diaries are great examples of that. Without explicitly naming those terms, he discusses things like patriarchy, colonialism, sexual violence etc. in a thoughtful and accessible way. But it’s when he zooms out of his own personal experiences and looks at SOCIETY from a distance and his own role in (not) bettering society where he gets lost in the ideological illusions of idealism, individualism and a great man theory of history. I promise I’m not tryna over intellectualize s*** and I will try to explain what I mean with as much clarity as I can.

After my first couple of listens of the album I realized Kendrick probably has one of the most interesting character arcs outlined in his discography. The shift from Section.80 to this album isn’t lost on anybody, including Kendrick himself. The change from “we gon be alright” to “I chose me I’m sorry” is a pretty dramatic shift, but it’s in my opinion an unnecessary shift that ultimately stems from how he misunderstood the problems that he addressed in his music throughout his career.

I think if you want to pinpoint where exactly this shift happened the most, there are two important moments, firstly the period in between TPAB and DAMN. and the 2020 BLM protests. Kendrick told us many times on this album that he is NOT our savior, but he had to convince himself of that before he told us that, in Mortal Man where he finishes the poem throughout TPAB, he said:

“A war that was based on apartheid and discrimination
Made me wanna go back to the city and tell the homies what I learned
The word was respect
Just because you wore a different gang color than mine's
Doesn't mean I can't respect you as a black man
Forgetting all the pain and hurt we caused each other in these streets
If I respect you, we unify and stop the enemy from killing us
But I don't know, I'm no mortal man
Maybe I'm just another nigga”

From his perceived failure he found out that he was not a savior and in fact just another nigga. That reality check took a lot of the hope out of him, and I do sympathize with it, but it was because of an unfounded expectation based on a false conception of how social change is achieved. Namely through the propagation of certain ideas, and that a positive message spreading to individuals could bring about a positive change in society, if only it was that simple… This is what I mean with idealism. In reality it’s not the ideas of the people that need to be changed in order to prevent violence in impoverished communities, it’s the material conditions that need to change in order to take away the conditions that lead to that violence.

But Kendrick thought he could make a change by spreading his idea of unity, being confronted with that failure was hard for him to take, and I think that’s why DAMN. had such a depressing tone throughout the album, especially with songs like YAH, FEEL and LUST. He also started to find the responsibility he felt to change the world overwhelming, but he wasn’t quite abandoning the responsibility altogether. “I feel like the whole world want me to pray for em, but who the f*** praying for me? ” is still not quite the same as “I chose me I’m sorry ”

I think that was partly because of the 2020 BLM protests and how he got criticized for not doing enough, especially by Noname. That last verse on Mirror where he went “I chose me I’m sorry” in the hook was directed at her:

“'Cause all of it's toxic
Girl, I'm not relevant to givin' on profit
Personal gain off my pain, it's nonsense
Darlin', my demons is off the leash for a moshpit
Baby, I just had a baby, you know she need me
Workin' on myself, the counselin' is not easy
Don't you point a finger, just to point a finger
'Cause critical thinkin' is a deal-breaker
Faith in one man is a ship sinking
Do yourself a favor and get a mirror that mirror grievance
Then point it at me so the reflection can mirror freedom
She told me that she need me the most, I didn't believe her
She even called me names on the post, the world can see it
Jokes and gaslightin'
Mad at me 'cause she didn't get my vote, she say I'm triflin'
Disregardin' the way that I cope with my own vices
Maybe it's time to break it off
Run away from the culture to follow my heart”

I actually mostly agree with what he’s saying here because I think the way noname went at Kendrick was completely out of pocket and that it was based on a false idea of Kendrick being a “savior”. But he gotta realize that he himself played a role in that as well. I would have liked to see him reflect more on his own responsibility in that, instead of just pointing the finger at those who may have unfairly deemed him to be some kind of failure without addressing how that happened. This is the problem with how he conceived of social change by a misconception that great men throughout history are the ones who spur social change, which explains his idolization of 2pac, to whom he pretty obviously saw himself as the next great man with the task of changing society for the better, or in other words, as a savior.

The part that I take issue with is that he acts as if he had to choose between either being a savior, or just only being concerned with his own problems, as he said in Mirror: “Sorry I didn't save the world, my friend, I was too busy building mine again”. But here Kendrick presents us a false dichotomy, either be a savior, or just concern yourself with your own problems, since you cannot save the world anyway, there is a different option that Kendrick is omitting, you don’t have to choose between either extremes, but I think that’s because he was previously so invested in the other extreme. So I understand where he’s coming from, but I don’t think this is the right position to take, but who knows where his head will be at in a couple of years. I look forward to finding that out with his next album and until then I’ll be bumping Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers

TLDR: I can definitely sympathize with Kendrick’s feeling of disappointment in not achieving what he genuinely wanted to achieve with the message in his music, but it was ultimately based on his misconception of the problems that he wanted to solve because of his understanding of history mostly being determined by great men (or as he says, “saviors”) propagating ideas that changed material conditions. When confronted with his own inevitable failure as one of those great men, he instead went to the other extreme and distanced himself from being concerned with the world's problems altogether and embraced a highly individualistic mindset in just worrying about “building his own world” instead, but those are of course not the only choices.

and @op i had to add on some more while im on my lunch break, you really opened my mind to something i could quite put my tongue on at first, but now i feel like you really entered me

Yall thot i wasnt gonna have a thread? Nah nah nah no more simmering we breaking it down right now and adding more points to the "im always right" board 😭😭😂

Euphoria:

This nigga said im the biggest hater and then went on to list every molecule and cell he hates about Drake.

This nigga not only said Drakes names straight up multiple times he also called out all his weed carriers by name and begged them to crash out.

The first beat he sat Drake down like "the boy" he is and gave him a stern talk before he whooped his ass in the beat switch.

• "I was surprised when i got that feature request
  When you know we got some s*** that still needs address"

Drake is such a thirsty 2face groupie i told yall. From trying to get Keem, from the Khaled For Free song mention, to being at Kendrick concerts etc. while Kendrick just ignores him. AND Kendrick brings up the smoke Drake been ducking for 10 years since Control & the BET cypher when he cried to Elliot and Angie like mommy n daddy suggesting Kendrick should be blackballed, while later on also calls out all his sneak dissing Drake always does not only to him but to others as well, but yet claims "he wants smoke" while most the time never being direct.

• "When you with sexy redd i believe you think its two bad b****es
  I believe you dont like real women cuz thats competition you might pop ass with them"

Called bro a groupie b**** and an attention hoe at the same time while throwing up he might be secret sus flags that is boxing women out for his own shine - plus the accusations of Sexy Redd being a plant and Drake being paid to promote, so shes not "real".

• "Moving like a degenerate every antic feeling distasteful"

A nigga calling you a degenerate is crazy. He calling that nigga out for being extra thirsty for a response over a FEATURE, making up lies (which the bars about Drake being a manipulator is also about) such as the AI track he tried to push as legit from Kendrick, trying to disturb & instigate his family ties with TDE & for disrespecting the dead. AND ALSO Drake schizo posting all over IG about Kendrick for nearly two weeks. A DESPERATE CORNBALL DEGENERATE. SPIRALING!

• "Hate when i rap about guns then they turn into nuns he like pray for my city fakin for likes and digital hugs"

A hit at Drakes mob cosplay but always wants to posture as "unity" and "love" in interviews and online. His later bars about him desperately trying to be more stereotypical "black" & mob fairytales is in the same ballpark while saying hes just a fake instead of being who he really is. You can "be black" without falling into stereotypes or trying too hard. And if youre really about violence, if that is truly you, then stop having one foot out putting on a facade in other places. Stop fronting and pretending so hard.

• "I dont like you poppin s*** at Pharrell, for him i inherent the beef, f*** all that pushin p (Pharrell), let me see you push a t (pusha t), you better off spinnin at him if you think bout pushin me, hes Terrance Thorton (push's govt) im Terrance Crawford and im whoppin feet (sports reference)"

Calling him out for s***ting on and bullying Pharrell who is not only a rap beloved legend but also another defenseless PRODUCER. So hes hopping in to even the score as a Rapper himself. But not only that, Drake STILL has unfinished business with Pusha T. Hes attacking a producer and thristy for Kendrick, while he steadily ignores Pusha T without a real reply who really violated him. Which lead to Kendrick saying why you mad at me, the nigga you actually ducking actually violated you, but im actually more dangerous than the nigga you scared of anyways.

• "I know some s*** about nigga that make Gunna Wunna look like a saint"

Drake is worst than a snitch and done worst, and the s*** that Drake done makes Gunna look like an angel in comparison.

• "Yachty cant give you no swag neither, f*** who you hang with"

Once a lame always a lame no matter what they do they will be it.

• Sidenote

The hellcat etc. bars are about Drake saying he bout to go Demon on Push Ups. Kendrick is egging him on to do it while using multiple wordplays with the word demon. Also "Everybody wannabe demon till they get chipped by a throwaway" bar - Drake claims hes a demon and a goat yet hes so easily in his feelings over a throwaway verse aka a FEATURE that got him so upset from a 4foot midget.

• "I like Drake with the melodies i dont like how he act tough"

Saying Drake is better as a singer than a rapper and hes more "him" when hes in a singer mode while also discrediting his skill and career as a rapper. Which goes into his later bars about "just keep making me dance (HNM) then we wont have a problem".

• "My first one like my last one, thats a classic you dont have none, let your fans to stomach that one"

Calling out his d***riders directly from fans to the industry. And he makes this bait bar on purpose because how desperate Drake fans are to attribute his projects as classics. While also instigating the same ol tale in rap of "but does Drake really have a classic??" conversation and debates that repeats every few years about Drake since TC - hes doing it himself tho to create messy discourse on purpose and to sow doubt, once again. He also calls out hardcore Drake d***riders & his weed carriers multiple times later on in the song.

• "You WERE signed to one nigga that was signed to that nigga signed to that nigga that says im signed to that nigga"

Talking about when Drake used to be on an actual f***ed up contract of multiple handlers. Where he cried online, on record and in interviews about it even said hes going to shoot up the YMCMB office like a school shooter if nothing is changed. Which is part of why he released IYRTITL, WATTBA & More Life back to back to convince the courts to let him go crying about Birdman & Slim f***ing him too much. So Kendrick is saying you were actually in this situation, so why are you talking down on me supposedly being in that situation as well even tho its a lie? Degenerate hypocrite, again. And its a reference to Pusha T's Exodus song.

• "Why would i call around for dirt on niggas do yall think my life is only just rap? Thats hoe s*** i got a son to raise but i see you dont know nothin bout that"

A shot at Drake, again, for being thirsty. And a critique of him having all this time to schizo post and make up stories and literal AI tracks. Dont you have a son like me that needs attention tho? Discrediting him as a father while also calling him addictively stuck online. While also making references to Pusha T calling him out over his child & his baby mother s***ting on him online about him being a piece of s***. Also they're split custody, so he really wouldnt know what its like to be around and what it takes to raise a kid 24/7. As Kendrick goes to list some of the many things it takes to raise a kid and how much time it takes. Kendrick still only took 16 days to respond tho while Drake took 14 lol. Same time basically, but one has a constant family. And he dont need to get dirt on Drake to battle him, thats beneath him. Unlike the degenerate hypocrite.

• "Aint twenty v one its one v twenty, if i gotta smack niggas that write for you, bring em out ill clean them up too tell Beam to be right with you, am i battlin ghost or ai, feeling like joel osteen"

A dig at Drake, once again crying, about "20v1" which doesnt even have anything to do with Kendrick, that would be Metro's doing. But even if so, Drake not only has writers and ghost writers, but now hes bringing AI into it of passed away and living people while also causing confusion about tracks legitimacy from him and Kendrick. So Kendrick is saying you also got 20 niggas. All them writers ghost n not, all the AI of ghosts and living & not only that, im not even sure what record is real or fake (like the whitney record) because of you so what am i suppose to do or get at, you dumb degenerate clown. While again letting him know he knows who his people is. Got them all tagged.

• "Ovo(-ho) niggas are d*** riders, they run to America to imitate heritage, yet they cant imitate the violence"

Saying Drake and co. are a bunch of wave riders, and not only that theyre using Rap which is literally an American made thing so liking him to "culture vultures", and not only that, again, hes saying they have to come to America to get big they cant get big in Canada alone. Thus, d*** riding wave riders stealing culture. And that they can pretend all they want but they will never know what Rap actually means to America especially since they didnt grow up in it nor know the struggle, thus again, they will never be able to trully be it while reaping the benefits. And they cant match the violence & pain, so dont push it - the violence & pain is literally in the DNA of America and notably Rap which is part of why it was created in the first place that could only come from somewhere like America. Also Canada is soft. You cant match the violence I can bring.