What a day: Out of nowhere, Kendrick Lamar just released GNX, a surprise new album. An immediate question some might have is:
What Is A GNX From Kendrick Lamar’s New Album?
The album title refers to a car: the 1987 Buick Grand National Regal GNX.
In a 2012 interview with Complex, Lamar explained that after he was born, he was driven home from the hospital in a Regal, saying, “My pops put me on to rap. When I was born, I came home from the hospital in an ’87 Buick Regal while my pops was bumping Big Daddy Kane. He would say, ‘This is Rakim. You get your whole style from Rakim!’ Or, ‘Go listen to Biz Markie!’ Sometimes I sit back and listen to hip-hop with him to see where my hip-hop roots come from.”
Earlier this year, Lamar showed off photos of a GNX he apparently acquired (as XXL notes), likely the same one that appears on the GNX album cover (below). On his finsta, he wrote, “aye life get real tricky. no matter where you at with it. i never pick and choose what stories to relate to. all of them is relative. like my momma say tho. different strokes for different folks. a good ol saying can snap you back into reality sometimes. but in the moment of confusion, the best thing you can do is find a gnx. make you realize the only thing that matters in life is that original paper work. that TL2 code. 1 of 547. yea i finally changed. its over with. dhz. my big cousin pat dogg smiling down. anybody wanna line it up. i’ll pull heem off the floor and flip yo sh*t.”
Kendrick Lamar’s GNX Album Cover Artwork
GNX is out now via pgLang/Interscope. Find more information here.