Kendrick Lamar, seen here performing at the Forum in Inglewood, California on June 19, released his sixth album, GNX on Friday, November 22, without any prior warning.

Timothy Norris/Getty Images

hide caption

change caption

Timothy Norris/Getty Images

By 2024, Kendrick Lamar has had one of the biggest years of his career: he was the undisputed winner of the most high-profile rap beef in years; he’s had a hit at the top the pop charts for six months; he is nominated for more then a half-dozen Grammys, including song and record of the year; he will headline the halftime show at next year’s Super Bowl. All this without releasing an album. At least until today.

On Friday afternoon at noon Eastern Time, Lamar dropped his sixth studio album, GNX. He did it without sharing a hint about its existence – no prior singles or videos or cryptic social media posts. (Not that it stopped fans from speculating.) GNX is Kendrick’s first full-length release since 2022 Mr. Morale and the big steps. The twelve-track album features performances by mariachi singer Deyra Barrera, SZA and Dody6; include producers Jack AntonoffSoundwave and Kamasi Washington.

Even before this surprising decline, Lamar was already on a roll.

In May, he concluded his ferocious back-and-forth with rival Drake with the diss track “Not like us”, which was at the top Billboard Hit the Hot 100 chart twice – both the week of its release and later, in July, when the video came out – earning several nods of the Recording Academy. On June 19 he hosted The pop-up – Ken & Friendsa concert at the Forum in Los Angeles that was streamed live by Amazon Music and featured cameos from some of the West Coast’s biggest rappers, from Roddy Rich Unpleasant Tyler, the Creator.

That was the case in September announced that Lamar will return to the Super Bowl stage next year to headline the halftime show. “Rap music is still the most impactful genre yet. And I’ll be there to remind the world why,” he said in a statement. “They got the right one.”

In 2022, Kendrick performed “mAAd City” and “Alright” at the hip-hop-focused halftime show in Los Angeles led by Dr. Dre. That year, he had broken his five-year hiatus from the spotlight after 2017 DAMN it, who won the Pulitzer Prize for music. GNX is Lamar’s first album since leaving his old label Top Dawg Entertainment. It was released under his own label, pgLang, through Interscope Records.