November 22, 2024 marked Kendrick Lamar’s unexpected album release of GNX, encapturing Lamar’s ingenious, raw, emotional, and quirky rapping persona. This release presents a perfect time to look back on Lamar’s prolific and significant career, filled to the brim with achievements and recognitions of his incredible lyricism, production, and complexity as a rapper. Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, hailing from the crime-filled streets of Compton, CA, managed to build himself up from nothing to being arguably one of the greatest rappers of all time. He has used his struggles to convey a unique perspective with magnificent lyricism, highlighting his experience in gang violence, exasperation at racial and cultural oppression, frustration with corruption in the industry, and numerous other substantial topics. Many overlook Kendrick Lamar’s artistry, immediately recognizing the vulgar content of some of his work, completely missing the significance and depth of Lamar’s scrutiny of some of the most relevant issues of the past few decades. His brilliance must not be overlooked, even if his style or genre may not appeal to you. The perspective and thought provoking insight you can obtain from his music is astonishing.
Kendrick Lamar began releasing music in 2003 under the name K. Dot. He was eventually recognized by Tiffith’s Top Dawg Entertainment and partnered with this production company to continue releasing. The release of his second album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, was the clear marker of Kendrick’s massive surge in popularity. This album included massive hits such as “Money Trees,” “Swimming Pools (Drank),” “Poetic Justice,” “Backstreet Freestyle,” and so many more. This album conveyed both Kendrick’s experience with gang violence as he matured and growing out of a community filled with conflict and brutality.
In 2015, Kendrick released his next massive hit album, To Pimp A Butterfly, which contained incredibly famous songs such as “Alright,” “King Kunta,” “U, I,” and “Mortal Man.” This collection covered racism, political and social oppression, cultural difficulties of an African American man, and self love. The most significant song on this album, which highlights Kendrick’s remarkable intellect, is “Mortal Man.” In her book unpacking this album, author Sequoia Maner says, “‘Mortal Man’ was its album’s ‘crown jewel’ and acted as its thesis statement.” This 12 minute track starts with Kendrick questioning his audience, if they will stay loyal to him through controversy or difficult times, saying, “If shit hits the fan, is you still a fan?” Toward the end of the song, Kendrick recites a poem, explaining the album’s title and overall theme. This poem contains so much depth and brilliance in its theme and the way it is portrayed. Kendrick writes, “The caterpillar is a prisoner to the streets that conceived it. Its only job is to eat or consume everything around it, in order to protect itself from this mad city…One thing it noticed is how much the world shuns him, but praises the butterfly. The butterfly represents the talent, the thoughtfulness, and the beauty within the caterpillar…. When trapped inside these walls certain ideas take roots, such as going home, and bringing back new concepts to this mad city. The result? Wings begin to emerge, breaking the cycle of feeling stagnant. Finally free, the butterfly sheds light on situations that the caterpillar never considered, ending the internal struggle. Although the butterfly and caterpillar are completely different, they are one and the same.” 
This piece of poetry is so thought-provoking and entirely shows Kendrick Lamar’s profundity and absolute intelligence that is often not associated with his genre. This poem is not meant to “read well” or sound like fluid pleasing poetry; the beauty is the perspective and comparison he brings, highlighting the growth of a boy represented in the poem as a caterpillar growing out of the hood. The gang violence, institutional racism, poverty, and addiction form this prison spoken of in the poem. This boy, exposed to the vulgarity and brutalism of the world he lives in from such a young age is hateful and falls into this system. He recognizes how those, the rich, that can make it out of the hood are celebrated and praised, while those who cannot make it out are dehumanized and degraded. This little boy, however, sees a way out as he grows, with Kendrick saying, “When trapped inside these walls certain ideas take roots, such as going home, and bringing back new concepts to this mad city,” This boy, trapped and institutionalized, breaks free from the “cycle of feeling stagnant,” and finds his success. The caterpillar, a version of the boy who was grown in a vicious environment, and this beautiful butterfly, a landmark of success, both live in the boy. Kendrick closes with one last line, “Although the butterfly and caterpillar are completely different, they are one and the same.” This one line is representative of so much of Kendrick Lamar’s work. The reflection of the circumstances that created him and the acceptance that both the crude, vulgar nest from which he arose and the success, beauty, and awards that stemmed from his hard work not only both exist inside him, but are one. “Mortal Man” outshines the rest of To Pimp a Butterfly just due to the incredibly thought provoking lyrics and theme. To Pimp a Butterfly, though, is an incredible album which contains greatness in almost every track.
Subsequently, two years later in 2017, Kendrick went on to release arguably his most prolific album, DAMN. The most famous of these songs being “HUMBLE.,” “PRIDE.,” “DUCKWORTH.,” “LOYALTY.,” and “DNA.” This album follows a theme of religion and struggle relating to his life choices and the path he has followed to get where he is today. There is great variety in this album in the intensity and style he chooses to convey certain messages. Songs such as “HUMBLE.” and “DNA.” show the aggressive rapper many recognize, while other songs such as “DUCKWORTH.” carry Kendrick’s elite storytelling and artistic lyricism. The most notable song on DAMN. is “DUCKWORTH.,” which displays Kendrick’s unmatched storytelling of an unlikely circumstance which led to his future success. Then, on April 16, 2018, DAMN. won the Musical Pulitzer Prize for the incredible writing and portrayal of the complexities of being African American in modern American society.
After a long hiatus, Kendrick released Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers in 2022, which was initially considered slightly underwhelming for not containing quite as many hits as his previous albums. Though the purpose of this album was a dive into family and rebuilding himself, its practiced concept was essentially an unpacking of his persona conveyed through very personal themes.
More recently, the Kendrick and Drake feud went viral. This feud arose from a history of back and forth from the two artists to eventual large accusations and allegations blowing the squabble out of proportion. Most agreed Kendrick had essentially won this futile beef. Although this was heavily exaggerated and over hyped by the public, there were many substantial remarks on both sides. This led to Drake suing Kendrick’s record label, specifically for the diss track, “Not Like Us,” for defamation and harassment. This seemingly unnecessary and avoidable conflict escalated extremely quickly with Kendrick Lamar’s intense criticism leaving Drake under heavy fire all over social media. The Kendrick and Drake drama was broken down in more detail in The Gallery article, Kendrick vs. Drake: A Timeline.
Finally, Kendrick’s latest surprise release of GNX this past November gained quick traction around the world, and it is safe to say that he has not lost his artistic touch. As Variety Magazine says “Combining vicious sincerity, kaleidoscopic California sounds, and the athleticism of a decathlete, GNX is Kendrick Lamar at his most compelling — a mosaic that indisputably reaffirms his status as the most dynamic spitter the world has to offer.” That pretty much sums GNX up. Kendrick establishes his dominance once more in the rap and hip-hop industry, while once more diving into the depth of his persona religiously, artistically, mentally, and socially.
Now, Kendrick is soon to start his tour with fans selling out arenas all over the nation for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The Grand National Tour with viral R&B/hip-hop singer SZA begins on April 19, 2025, and all Kendrick listeners are in eager anticipation. Prices are ranging from under $100 to thousands of dollars for one ticket. It’s safe to say that his newest album GNX was not a flop and Kendrick’s impact, specifically in the United States, has in no way diminished.
There is no doubt that Kendrick Lamar is more than just another rapper, the proof is everywhere. His loyal fan base who praise his integrity and artistic talent. The plethora of awards and accolades he has racked up along his career. But the best show of his unique qualities as an artist are simply in his songs. Regardless of preference, identification, or circumstances, there will almost always be objective appreciation for his distinctive skillset as a rapper. So understanding the circumstances which he arose from, the complexity of his content, and the fame that he has justifiably obtained, listen to Kendrick Lamar, if only a couple songs. You will gain immense perspective and understanding, and more likely than not, a new appreciation for his lifetime’s work.
