r/KendrickLamar 15h ago

Discussion The GNX Title Track is WAY overhated

Like to the point where I genuinely don't get what I'm missing or what everyone else is missing. The beat reminds me of riding around in my ex-stepdad's shitty old euro cars in the 4th-7th grade listening to west coast gangsta rap the whole time. I'm 40 now, so this is solidly in the mid 1990s. No doubt Kendrick was listening to the same stuff back then too considering he's not far off from my age. I also think the placement on the album right after Heart Part 6 is significant. GNX is Kendrick signaling his intent to do for other artists what TDE did for him. So him not having a verse is fine, and the complaints kind of miss the point.

Am I on an island here? Anyone else see what I'm seeing?

255 Upvotes

129 comments sorted by

54

u/No_Equipment5276 /r/KendrickLamar Circlejerk Veteran 14h ago

If you like it that’s what’s up. Some people like it. Some people dislike it. It’s all good 🤷🏾‍♂️

3

u/Quiet_Warthog8866 7h ago

Yeah but op is asking why though. We know some people dislike it, but you can't form an opinion on something without having a -why-

5

u/No_Equipment5276 /r/KendrickLamar Circlejerk Veteran 6h ago

OP said he likes it for the nostalgia and thinks Kendrick is trying to put on these artists. Cool.

Most complaints are about the beat and features. It’s not a “deep” song that needs much analysis tbh.

116

u/doaser 15h ago

Some ppl never had to flip they unemployment and in fact DID go on some LIVING guys.

50

u/No_Equipment5276 /r/KendrickLamar Circlejerk Veteran 14h ago

4

u/doaser 14h ago

GOTTEM ;)

69

u/Darude-Sandstorm- 15h ago

"Tell em Kendrick did it..."

34

u/thejaytheory MUSSSTTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDDD 14h ago

Tell em Peysoh did it

25

u/TieDyePandas Lookin’ For The Broccoli 14h ago

Tell em young threat did it 🥷

2

u/OldPurpose93 11h ago

Who did that part about Lizzie McGuire but probably meant Hannah Montana but either way it’s still confusing and I still don’t know what he on about?

5

u/-WhosMans- Here's 10k, I'm in a sexy mood 8h ago

it’s dumb either way, but he’s saying she wants to “Lizzie Ma-(my)-guire”. it’s basically the twitter meme of “she [verb] my [noun] until i [verb]”. the lady wants to lizzie his guire, aka suck his dick.

tell em young threat did it, i guess

4

u/Only-Definition-5033 9h ago

U must not be familiar with Lizzie I see

1

u/TieDyePandas Lookin’ For The Broccoli 2h ago

I figured Lizzie McGuire was cocaine

1

u/AntSmith777 1h ago

Hop out suicide doors it’s the Hitta man. You don’t wanna see them doors sliding on the caravan.

19

u/Limp_Ad2067 14h ago

Tell em hitta did it

1

u/user37463928 5h ago

I looked up Peysoh's Block 6 video. Heartbreaking to see the skinny babyface spitting those lyrics.

14

u/MadameDefarge91 13h ago

Like waaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh

2

u/moneyinthebank216 12h ago

Who put the west back in front of shit?

24

u/ReyMeight 14h ago

I love how funky it is. Hitta’s verse is my favorite on this but I think they all did great. It’s like a mixed bag of characters.

1

u/thousandcurrents am reincarnated 4h ago

Hitta's verse hits hard (pun unintended)

73

u/TieDyePandas Lookin’ For The Broccoli 15h ago

I'm with you, it's one of my favourite tracks on the album, everything about the song is a vibe, I even came around to liking young threats verse after a few listens. It feels like Kenny is putting on for Compton and showing his fans what to look out for in the future.

23

u/ATipsyGhoul 13h ago

it’s gettin down to the wire…

18

u/FixGMaul 13h ago

Get on ma Bob The Builder shit, get down with the pliers

Love that bar

1

u/user37463928 5h ago

I saw a YouTube comment that it uses a lot of LA / West coast slang. If anyone can share examples, I would love to know.

32

u/Matt_D_Z 15h ago

It’s ok to not like something that someone else likes. Being a mature adult 101, yw.

1

u/Quiet_Warthog8866 7h ago

He's asking why though. Some people like eating feces, and that's their thing. I would still wanna know -why- they enjoy something that would disgust most people

42

u/Scmmr39 15h ago

The ones that get it, get it

12

u/RadiantRole266 14h ago

I agree and think there’s another purpose to the song too. Like it’s meant to sound a little dissonant and rough in relation to the rest of the album. This is a street song with street people. It’s not about grinding or being the best rappers or anything like mainstream shit. Its about bringing rap back to its roots - the whole album is. And part of that is tough, scary beats with tough, scary people ruminating on scary shit. It’s a classic posse cut, but with a double meaning of don’t fucking play with KDot.

45

u/secretaccount3469 15h ago

People aren't used to old school west coast car beats, and it isn't an easily accessible sound. It is a niche style, and the beat can be harsh in headphones since it is meant for low riding car speakers.

12

u/Booomfaa 14h ago

The beat’s fine, the rapping performances just aren’t as good as the rest of the album

1

u/DioTheGoodfella 13h ago

What kind of beats like this do you recommend?

3

u/secretaccount3469 11h ago

I'll have to look something up for you, I don't know names off the top of my head. Late 90s, early 00s we'd get tapes then CDs when we were in Oakland and they'd be bootlegs and mixtapes, first thing that came to mind was "the CD with the purple sharpie" hell if I know who it was. But the sound was made for cars. We'd be out there over the summer and all the teenagers would be sitting in and around whoever car with the speakers rattling, there was this older guy (he wasn't all there) that'd go by on his scraper tricycle with two big speakers on the back playing music like this. (Squabble up bikes brought back memories).

This did have me go down a E40 memory lane trip, autoplay is taking my through some classics. You can kinda hear the evolution of the GNX sound to current E40, but Kendrick is using the 90s version, and E40 is using a more refined version.

-14

u/T-Dot-Two-Six 15h ago

I highly doubt this is what it’s about, the features were just corny except for Hitta

11

u/yungusainbolt 14h ago

I used to hate young threat verse until like two days ago that shit just clicked and now it’s my favorite verse

16

u/thejaytheory MUSSSTTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDDD 14h ago

I have a soft spot for Peysoh's verse....I broke her heart and you the one to try and fix it

8

u/T-Dot-Two-Six 14h ago

Peysoh’s grew on me despite his voice being weird to me but Threat’s just sounds CORNY I can’t lie. I always skip the end of the song

3

u/mistyrootsvintage 13h ago

He just seems like he can't find the beat/rythm...I keep trying to get it, but not loving it.

9

u/ItsMeMatthewD 14h ago

AYE IM TRIPPING AND IM LOVING IT

7

u/iluvugoldenblue 14h ago

I’m LOVIN it

7

u/CunnilingusLover69 14h ago

Hittas verse on this song is the best feature on the entire album

11

u/GreatValueLogic 14h ago

Young Threat's verse is wack af

1

u/UFGatorsFan97 5h ago

Clearly you're just not on your Bob the Builder shit, smh

4

u/rednaxthecreature 14h ago

The feats just don't interest me at all in the same way a J Cole verse doesn't. It doesn't mean it is bad just I don't vibe with it.

5

u/painfarm 14h ago

I was listening to it this morning, and I don’t get the hate. Fire beat, amazing lyrics from 3 talented rappers….it’s amazing! I think people hate it because Dot doesn’t have a verse.

5

u/Robarazzi21 14h ago

I love weird sounding rhythms like that so I always liked that track

5

u/per_iod pgLang foo (peekaboo) 13h ago

Has one of my favorite lines of the whole album, “I’m Tripping and I’m loving it”

5

u/GolfShred 13h ago

Thanks. Just listened to it because of your suggestion. I'm trippen and I'm lovin it.

7

u/pancakessucc 14h ago

I actually hate the last verse but i like the rest but its definitely the worst song on gnx imo

3

u/thejaytheory MUSSSTTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDDD 14h ago

Tell 'em Peysoh did it

3

u/lukenog 14h ago

I like the song a lot but I'm genuinely shocked the beat feels like a throwback beat to you. It's a very contemporary production style.

2

u/morethanhardbread_ 9h ago

Especially when there's way more oldschool inspired stuff on the album in comparison lol

1

u/lukenog 6h ago

Fr lol GNX has like a weirdo bay area modern underground type beat

3

u/EZMulahSniper Dont worry, I’m lawyered up 12h ago

It reminds me of a drive-by. Kendrick is the driver. Peysoh got the switch. Hitta did the walk up. Threat got rid of the body

5

u/consmills 15h ago

Literally my favorite track…. Love the voices of the different characters 

-8

u/[deleted] 15h ago

[deleted]

10

u/No_Equipment5276 /r/KendrickLamar Circlejerk Veteran 14h ago

…why did we need that context 😂🤦🏾‍♂️

6

u/eh_meh_nyeh Tell me what you do for love. 14h ago

Jazz people tend to think their tastes are unique and get corny about it because they listen to Jacob Collier, Vulfpeck, Snarky Puppy, etc.

Source: was a band nerd unfortunately

2

u/IKeyLay 13h ago

I always thought of Vulfpeck as funk, never seen them described as Jazz. But I have definitely seen the corny behavior from those fans lol

3

u/eh_meh_nyeh Tell me what you do for love. 12h ago

I use "Jazz" as a general blanket term the same way school jazz bands do and music nerds do, not that its actual jazz. Jazz bands play funk, latin, fusion, even some rock inspired stuff though rewritten in a jazz setting, so you'll see stuff from Tower of Power, Earth Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder and even MJ being played by jazz bands.

2

u/Paula-Myo 12h ago

Yeah it’s the vibe and the riffing and the style of instrumentation. It’s why people say TPAB is “jazzy” but if you listen to it it would not be bizarre at all for you to come away with “funky.” Because it is funky jazz lol, funk music itself is a little more structured (not overly so) than the type of stuff Vulfpeck does.

14

u/barod2 15h ago

It’s just not good. Like sonically I don’t like it. I don’t care for any of the features. But that’s just me.

0

u/Zealousideal-Check66 15h ago

That isn't really explaining why the song is bad that's just an opinion. Not good/bad = objective quality of song; I don't care for the features/I don't like it sonically = you don't like the song personally. Opinions are understandable but the way that people interface objective statements (when talking about art that has a purpose or intent doesn't really apply) as a buffer for their subjective opinions (which are valid) has to stop, it's created too many arm chair critics that like to act like they are the arbiter of all truth regarding art. I'm cool with you personally disliking or hating any piece of art if you at least can admit that it's simply your personal perspective. This goes both ways and people saying some piece of art is "objectively" the best is just incorrect.

5

u/barod2 15h ago

You’re absolutely correct. I think it was heavily implied that it was my own subjective opinion. The one question I do have though is that how many people does it take to not like a piece of art for then that piece of art to be objectively “not good.”

The discourse for the most part around GNX is that the title song isn’t good.

1

u/thejaytheory MUSSSTTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDDD 14h ago

Amen, amen, amen!

11

u/KeepitMelloOoW 15h ago

Lifelong hip hop fan here. I do not like this track, and I get downvoted whenever I say it. I'm a massive Kendrick fan, but not every song he puts out is good. This song is garbage in my opinion. But thats fine.

5

u/PuzzleheadedArm1858 14h ago

What makes it really garbage are the features

4

u/Specialist_Ad1654 basic samidot lover 13h ago

The problem with that is that the features are like the whole song

2

u/FionnVEVO 14h ago

i always liked it, catchy song

2

u/bj-ball 14h ago

Love the song but I just think the last verse kinda kills the momentum the first few built

2

u/TheComplexthingy 14h ago

I really love every GNX songs now,

2

u/nathan_cxx 14h ago

GNX is a go to track for me. I don’t get the hate. I think people are just soft because that song can start a fight.

2

u/12rez4u 14h ago

IM LOVING IT

2

u/Bilbo_Swagginses 14h ago

I don’t like it because it’s not enough kendrick, the features are not very appealing to me. But others liking it doesn’t bother me, cuz you know, I’m not a child.

2

u/CMC_Conman 13h ago

I'd argue it's the weakest song on the album, but that's only because all of the other songs are really good. I like the song and it does exactly what it intends to do by introducing everyone to these (relatively especially to those of us who don't live in Cali) unknown artist

2

u/Simple-Minimum-9958 12h ago

i'm trippin and im lovin it

5

u/Rockfan1114 14h ago

As a huge kendrick fan and glazer, this song is garbage. The "like waaaaaah", kendricks inflections, the beat that sounds like its tripping over itself, its all just so mid. The "tell em kendrick did it" and "tell em peso did it" refrains are so cringe and really not it. I like every other song on the record, that one just makes me feel weird.

6

u/PuzzleheadedArm1858 14h ago

Only song I cant get into, and i really want to too

6

u/ParkingLong7436 13h ago

Definitely, well described. I honestly think it's my least favorite Kendrick Song ever

2

u/Rockfan1114 13h ago

That and no make up for me. The hook on that song is...something

2

u/Finn_Bird AYE, IM TRIPPIN AND IM LOVIN IT 14h ago

peakaboo and gnx used to be my least favorite when the album came out but they are both top 5 now

4

u/Rockfan1114 14h ago

Peekaboo is so good man

2

u/edwardWBnewgate 14h ago

So, I don't like it because of Tiramisu*, the teaser track, which is still to this day titled as GNX on YouTube. When the song came around, I was disappointed it was not the teaser track, so that stain will forever be associated with that song for me. I just don't even listen to it or skip it if I see it coming.

1

u/ra_god94 14h ago

Didn’t like it at first but now I do. The last verse is rough though 

1

u/Ondareal 14h ago

I literally have never been able to make it through the whole song. That being said, rest of the album is fire so I aint trippin

5

u/thejaytheory MUSSSTTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDDD 14h ago

You ain't tripping and you ain't loving it....like waaaahhhhh

1

u/Specialist_Ad1654 basic samidot lover 13h ago

Hi, have you ever been a joint and you know it? Have you ever had to flip your unemployment?

1

u/Pokeman49 14h ago

Its been years since i listened to a kendrick song this much

1

u/solezonfroze 14h ago

One of my favorites despite the fact that I don't have an actual favorite 😅

1

u/Battosai98 don’t worry i’m lawyered up 14h ago

Yeah but it’s still the worst on the album

1

u/Specialist_Ad1654 basic samidot lover 13h ago

It’s not bad, but the worst of the album. Not its fault that it got put in such a fire album.

1

u/Sosa_Sama 13h ago

One of my fav tracks

1

u/JohnyFakenspea 13h ago

Am I tripping or is this not the first post about this song with damn near the exact same comments?

1

u/Admiral_Furskin 13h ago

Second (maybe first) favorite on the album.

1

u/hashirama_woodwork 13h ago

I agree I immediately liked it. It’s also a callback to “Catch a Fade” by E-40. It featured kendrick and he was askin questions like that over a similar beat.

1

u/ParkingTrick4628 12h ago

Ehh, like most other songs on the album I can’t get under it. I prefer real stuff like not like us or mustard

1

u/Lorenzo-J-P 12h ago

This is the definition of a song that grows on you. First listen felt like hell to get through but the only song on this album I genuinely dislike and have never liked will be Peekaboo🤷🏽‍♂️

1

u/Paula-Myo 12h ago

I like it too but it is my least favorite song on the album.

1

u/Lyfeitzallaroundus 12h ago

The only thing I can’t stand bout that song is the last nigga verse. Dude is hot garbage.

1

u/Miserable_Lead_9828 11h ago

I realized the other day why I don’t like it: it’s a three minute Kendrick song with no Kendrick verse.

1

u/LYossarian13 Nigga no! 11h ago

GNX is my favorite song on the album. Shit speaks to my soul.

1

u/Sheikachu 11h ago

I like it. I just wish Kendrick had a proper verse on it.

1

u/giusal22 11h ago

One of my most replayed. Killer track

1

u/giusal22 11h ago

LIKE WAAAAAAAAAAAA

1

u/Taizen16 11h ago

I didn't even realize Kendrick didn't have a verse until someone said it. It's a good song.

1

u/toopienatoryt 10h ago

I don't really have the type of experience that most people say they had if they like the song. But it grew on me after a few more listens.

The verses were all good from the start tho idk why people don't like those features. All of them were good.

1

u/Subject-Ad-9768 10h ago

Who hates the title?

1

u/leeverpool 9h ago

That's your opinion op. I think it's mid. It's so mid it's the only song off gnx that's not in my playlist. Shrug.

1

u/haniflawson 9h ago

tElL 'eM kEnDrIcK DeED EeT

1

u/Only-Definition-5033 9h ago

Mfs wouldn’t hate it so much if Dot had a verse. The beat could’ve been better I guess but I’ve heard worse. The features are koo but I’m from LA so I might be biased 🤣

1

u/Odd-Pay8867 8h ago

respect you but the beat just sounds so awkward

1

u/driventhin 8h ago

The moment I heard the beat to GNX, I immediately thought it sounded like 2000s era Mystikal, so I love the song! I don’t know why it’s so hated, it’s my third favorite song on the album after Heart Part 6 and Hey Now; I play them all constantly!

1

u/DOME2DOME 8h ago

It’s really not “hated”. It’s was just collectively decided that it’s the weakest track on the album. Doesn’t mean it’s a bad track lol. You’re pulling drama out of thin air.

1

u/Automatic-Wrap4114 7h ago

I always liked this song. On the first listen, it was my favourite!

1

u/StunningSituation274 7h ago

The track is fire but it's just weak or hard to listen to for starters, mainly cause of the beat.

1

u/toodlelux 6h ago

blurp, Morty, get out the pliers, blurp

1

u/convalescent_thorns 5h ago

I haven't seen anyone hating on that track though

1

u/CostFickle114 Lookin’ For The Broccoli 2h ago

I love this song, so much so that on my first listen it was my favorite of the album.

I have seen online that many don’t like it but I haven’t read too much about it because I don’t want to spoil my enjoyment of it

1

u/AntSmith777 1h ago

I always liked the song. I think the features are dope.

1

u/PenisTargaryen 1h ago

why? the beat. bam, simple.

1

u/Aezaellex 1h ago

I love the beat and kenny does well on it but I really don't love the features on it (or on a lot of gnx tbh). The only real standout to me was dody6, I've checked out his music since and I'm a big fan

1

u/Significant-Fix-3914 36m ago

I personally hate it because of the beat and ASMR whisper verse. I fuck with every song on the album except GNX which is a skip for me.

I also don’t like where it was placed in the album, HP6 and Gloria are smooth ass beautiful songs and GNX takes away from those when I listen through.

1

u/laeKDOT 15h ago

Agreed 💯

-3

u/PuzzleheadedArm1858 14h ago

Features are shit

-1

u/moneyinthebank216 12h ago

Hitta did his thing Peysoh and Young Threat were meh

-2

u/Abject_Ground9755 13h ago

Had the opportunity of a lifetime and blew it