With basically no warning, Kendrick Lamar released his new album, GNX, on Friday, and he caught everybodyâs attention from the jump. On the albumâs first song, âWacced Out Murals,â Lamar mentions three veteran rappers by name, and each has responded to the name-checks, as Stereogum notes.
First, Lamar raps, âUsed to bump Tha Carter III, I held my Rollie chain proud/Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down,â and that led Lil Wayne to post on X, âMan wtf I do?!â He continued, âI just be chillin & dey still kome 4 my head. Letâs not take kindness for weakness. Let this giant sleep. I beg u all. No one really wants destruction,not even me but I shall destroy if disturbed. On me. Love.â
Next, Lamar says, âSnoop posted âTaylor Made,â I prayed it was the edibles/I couldnât believe it, it was only right for me to let it go.â Snoop Doggâwho responded, in April, to Drakeâs âTaylor Made Freestyleâ with some incredulityâtook Lamarâs lyrics in stride, writing on X, âK dot new album GNX ð¥ð¥ð¥ð¥ð¥ð¤ð¤ð¤ð¤ð¤ It was the edibles ð¤¦ð¾ ððð¿ west west king ð¥ð¶ð«.â
Lastly, Lamar was more reverent of Nas on âWacced Out Murals,â rapping, âWon the Super Bowl and Nas the only one congratulate me.â Nas responded today, âAlways inspired by my brother KL. Keeping the essence of this shit alive and at the forefront. Salute King!â
There is one more musician who has a lot to say about GNX despite not being mentioned anywhere on the album, and that is Father John Misty, who, somehow, has, more or less, the same album release schedule as Lamar. After some posts on X (ânot now Iâm furiously scribbling my seeming response to,â âthere goes my #1â), Father John Misty took things a step further with a âdiss track.â Itâs not really a diss song, but âGodâs Trash,â which was recently featured on a Bandcamp-exclusive live album. But that hasnât stopped Father John Misty from playfully framing it as a Lamar retort. Find his âdissâ on Instagram.