GNX

On Kendrick, Storytelling, and Multiple POV

I wish I had more time. Because there are so many things I want to write and dissect about Kendrick Lamar, one of my favorite artists of all time. There are so many things I’d like to discuss—his lyrics mostly, the Drake feud (how Levi Justin Rogers and Kendrick Lamar are both the same age and Gemini’s) how much Good Kid Maad City meant to me when it came out, Kendrick’s faith, his doubts and pride, the new album, GNX. I feel like there are a million essays I could write. Yes, Kendrick is that deep, and yes, I am a superfan and yes I will admit that because this is a Substack and not journalism with a capital J. Will Kendrick ever beat Drake on the charts? No. Because he’s not pop. And Drake is pop. Pop is fine. But Rap and Storytelling are something else, which Lamar runs and why Kendrick is King. And of course, enough words have and videos already been written about *all that* that we don’t need to discuss it here.

So this brings me back to my point, which is actually about another point—*point of view* because still today, there is only one “mainstream” rapper who brings a sort of singer/songwriter vibe to rap, writing songs from multiple points of view. I remember Atmosphere/Slug back in the day writing stories from other’s perspectives, like in the song, “The Waitress” where he raps from the perspective of a homeless man in a diner and the woman serving him. Of course there are other underground rap acts that have plenty of storytelling, but other than Tyler (Chromokopia has an interesting sequence of songs about getting a girl pregnant/thoughts of becoming a possible father/and Tyler’s own father) yet I can’t think of anyone else who is trying to tell stories the way Lamar does. .

But this new GNX album is nothing like a folk record of course. Its rage and vibes are full of Lamar energy/maybe even hate. It’s uneven at times but also fun MUSTAAAAAARD! Any hate is mixed with a self awareness. And hate is mixed with self-incrimination as well, which is why I love Kendrick the most. As much as he is putting other people’s feet to the fire, Lamar’s own are black from such introspection.

Case in Point-Reincarnated, a song halfway through the album that samples a beat from Tupac.

At first I thought Reincarnated was a song about Kendrick’s parents, but no, of course it’s deeper than that. It’s Kendrick channeling Al Green, John Lee Hooker, Nina Simone, and other black artists, and then somehow it transitions to current day Lamar in a conversation with God about how much he’s worth/done versus how much his pride counts against him. Lamar presents himself as the “reincarnation” of these artists, but then Kendrick becomes a metaphor for Lucifer himself:

I can tell residue that linger from your past creates a cell
Father, I'm not perfect, I got urges, but I hold them down
"But your pride has to die," okay, Father, show me how
Tell me every deed that you done and what you do it for
I kept one hundred institutions paid
Okay, tell me more
I put one hundred hoods on one stage
Okay, tell me more
I'm tryna push peace in L.A.
But you love war
No, I don't
Oh, yes, you do
Okay, then tell me the truth
Every individual is only a version of you
How can they forgive when there's no forgiveness in your heart?
I could tell you where I'm going
I could tell you who you are
You fell out of Heaven 'cause you was anxious
Didn't like authority, only searched to be heinous
Isaiah fourteen was the only thing that was prevalent
My greatest music director was you
It was colors, it was pinks, it was reds, it was blues
It was harmony and motion
I sent you down to earth 'cause you was broken

It is this ping-pong of Kendrick I can’t get enough of—the different voices and beliefs and versions of self bouncing within him. Literally having a conversation with God and realizing he is some version of Lucifer that is still in need of rehabilitation. That we all have that pride and ego and darkness in our hearts. It’s why I think I write novels, to explore all the versions within a person or the different personalities that contrast and contradict against others.

It’s why Kendrick and I really are true Geminis, Geminis of course being the sign of the twins—always caught between two versions of themselves, the good and bad, the sinner and the saint. The dual nature and split personalities. I see it all within me too—the desire to be a good father, husband, overall sober and solid individual who does good in the world, versus the me that wants to self-destruct (gluttony, lust) and cares only about his art (ego), driven to carve out some legacy in life and writing that will outlive me, (pride). And while I seek peace in the world and within myself there is still a rage and bitterness that won’t go away, for justice in the world, but also people who have done me wrong, entire systems who have failed people.

So, we hold these things in tension in art and life. Try to improve years over year. It is all that we can do.

And yet on GNX, even after all the shit-talking, we still get this beautiful song with SZA, “Luther.” For there’s beauty in it all too.