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Kendrick Lamar's new album, GNX, created headlines a few days ago due to its list of tracks and the teaser video released by the rapper. The project came out on November 22, 2024. Lamar did not share any other announcements before the album was officially released for everyone.
As per the latest update, GNX has now received the highest rating for a rap album on Metacritic this year. The album scored 84% on the review website based on the analysis done by outlets such as NME, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and more.
Notably, Kendrick Lamar has yet to comment on the Metacritic score. GNX marks Lamar's sixth album, which was released around two years after the arrival of his fifth major project, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, which turned out to be commercially successful.
Trending
Meanwhile, netizens took to the comments section of a post shared by Hip Hop All Day on X to react to the news of GNX receiving the highest rating. One of them was seemingly not willing to believe the score as he wrote:
"It's not a good album. If he's using payola for streams and attention, he's definitely paying for reviews as well."
There were similar reactions below the post, where a user stated that there were other albums better than GNX. Another individual stated that Metacritic's name must be added to Drake's petition filed on November 25, 2024, where he alleged that Universal Music Group used different platforms, including Spotify, to boost the popularity of Kendrick Lamar's diss track, Not Like Us.
"Boy I can name dozens of albums over the last decade better than this," a user wrote on X.
"Yet a lot of us ain't even heard a word of it," a netizen stated on X.
"Add Metacritic to the lawsuit," one of the reactions reads.
On the other hand, Lamar's fans also shared their responses below the post, with most of them praising the album.
"Everyone is entitled to their opinion I guess. This album is dope," a user mentioned.
"Always loved when Kendrick went for his banger bag. As much as I love introspective Kendrick, it was nice to get an album full of straight heat for a change," an X user stated.
Kendrick Lamar's GNX is trending for various other reasons
Within four days of release, GNX has left a positive impression among critics and fans of Kendrick Lamar. No Musica reported on November 25, 2024, that the album had reached the top of the US charts. GNX features 12 songs in the soundtrack, and they have already grabbed different spots on platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify, as per Vibe magazine.
Among all the singles, Wacced Out Murals was streamed almost 5 million times on Spotify. According to No Musica, this is followed by four more singles, including Squabble Up, Luther, Man at the Garden, and Hey Now.
Furthermore, The Express Tribune stated on Tuesday, November 26, that a few lyrics from Wacced Out Murals have been criticized for the derogatory use of the word "Eskimo." The word is featured in the following lyrics:
"Whatever, though, call me crazy, everybody questionable/ Turn me to an eskimo, I drew the lines and decimals."
Kendrick Lamar is yet to respond to the criticism and further updates on the same are currently awaited.
