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Kendrick Lamar: GNX review – stunning surprise from a rapper determined to be the greatest

After his beef with Drake, Lamar expands his list of targets with enthralling rhymes and adventurous arrangements. At this point, he’s deferring only to God

Photograph: Dave FreeIt is a victory that seems to power GNX, a surprise release that couldn’t be more different in tone from Lamar’s last album Mr Morale and the Big Steppers, which spent 75 minutes thrashing about, filled with self-criticism and doubt, contemplating the inevitable end of his moment in the spotlight and reassuring himself that “you can’t please everyone” on a track called Crown. Kendrick Lamar: Man at the Garden – videoIt’s a huge leap from the wracked figure at the centre of Mr Morale, and it would seem faintly risible were it not for the fact that GNX is evidently an album made by an artist at the top of his game. The implication behind Gloria seems to be that Lamar has got where he is – the only rapper, indeed pop artist, in history to win a Pulitzer, the name that always gets pulled out to counter old hip-hop fans’ complaints about declining standards in lyrics and technique – because he works harder at his craft.

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