Albums Kendrick Lamar - GNX (Official Album Thread)

[No1]

Kendrick is tied with Kanye as having the most classics in one shot

GKMC
TPAB
Damn

Mr Morale is a great album but not classic. And time will tell with GNX. I’m giving it a 4.5/5 right now but I can see myself giving it a perfect 5 in the near future. We’ll see of there’s really a deluxe coming or it’ll end up being a brand new project. As it stands right now its the clear cut best album 2024.

Nas still has everyone beat with 5

Illmatic
It Was Written
Stillmatic
Life Is Good
Kings Disease 3

And Nas discography is DEEP. If Kendrick is still putting out classic albums at age 50 we’ve got something to talk about.

Saying Kings Disease 3 or Life is Good are classic albums is something only a certain segment of the internet/Nas stans would say. And I’m a dude who wants the KD rubix cube.

I don’t DAMN is a classic either tbh. But the masses may feel that way. But to Nas, Stillmatic (I didn’t see you include it at first) is closer to being a classic than either KD3 or LIG. We just can’t just call every very good Nas album a classic.

If you’re doing that then the list of classic albums becomes much longer. Classic albums have incredible staying power and penetrate culture or influence music in some way. They stand the test of time. Critic ratings are based on a snap shot opinion immediately, it’s not like back in the day when they got the albums early and lived with them for a couple weeks. There hasn’t been a classic rap album in years.

 

[Overpss]

2012 Music Critic Top Ten Lists

Over the next two months (as we do every year), we'll collect the individual year-end Top Ten lists published by over 100 major music critics, websites, and other publications. Check back daily, as we'll update the overall standings whenever new lists are published.

web.archive.org

131 individual top ten lists from major publications (including hiphop) were made in 2012

Frank Ocean's Orange came at #1
Kendrick's Good Kid maad city came at #2
Tame Impala's Lonerism came at #3

Nas' Life is good wasn't even top 20 that year

So yeah sure, the source gave it a nice placement on their list in 2012, but the source is only 1 publication out of 131

 

[SteelCitySoldier]

Have we figured out who the fukk he was “speaking” for on reincarnated yet? We know the final verse was about him but can we get input on who else?

 

[SNG]

Have we figured out who the fukk he was “speaking” for on reincarnated yet? We know the final verse was about him but can we get input on who else?

Himself

 

[Stone]

Saying Kings Disease 3 or Life is Good are classic albums is something only a certain segment of the internet/Nas stans would say. And I’m a dude who wants the KD rubix cube.

I don’t DAMN is a classic either tbh. But the masses may feel that way. But to Nas, Stillmatic is closer to being a classic than either KD3 or LIG. We just can’t just call every very good Nas album a classic.

If you’re doing that then the list of classic albums becomes much longer. Classic albums have incredible staying power and penetrate culture or influence music in some way. They stand the test of time. Critic ratings are based on a snap shot opinion immediately, it’s not like back in the day when they got the albums early and lived with them for a couple weeks. There hasn’t been a classic rap album in years.

The audience is so fragmented now it’s hard to get that status

 

[Izanami]

The 1920s mobster flow ain't it

Sounds like Nas on Who Killed it? If we being honest

 

[MINT]

DAMN won the only prestigious Pulitzer prize hip hop will ever get, and the album won it for lyricism

 

[Black Excellence]

WellI mean you’re wrong its just simple as that

And I can in turn say the same exact thing to you lmao

I have not heard KD3 or LIG brought up since the year it was released.

 

[MINT]

 

[Black Excellence]

Bro funny as shyt

You aint gonna be the only one stuntin round in this bytch

 

[MINT]

 

[S.W.A.G.]

I think I will now call this album is a classic and will likely be universally recognised as one retrospectively imo. Even if historically to point to the year Kendrick had with the battle, and the energy he brought to hip hop in 2024. It is an easy, fun listen, more so than DAMN, and it has hits, deep songs and sonically is unique yet diverse. This likely means he is on 3 classics universally?

 

[MINT]

I think I will now call this album is a classic and will likely be universally recognised as one retrospectively imo. Even if historically to point to the year Kendrick had with the battle, and the energy he brought to hip hop in 2024. It is an easy, fun listen, more so than DAMN, and it has hits, deep songs and sonically is unique yet diverse. This likely means he is on 3 classics universally?

He already had 3 at the very least before this one (consensus is GKMC/TPAB/DAMN).

 

[derro13]

legend

 

[derro13]

2012 Music Critic Top Ten Lists

Over the next two months (as we do every year), we'll collect the individual year-end Top Ten lists published by over 100 major music critics, websites, and other publications. Check back daily, as we'll update the overall standings whenever new lists are published.

web.archive.org

131 individual top ten lists from major publications (including hiphop) were made in 2012

Frank Ocean's Orange came at #1
Kendrick's Good Kid maad city came at #2
Tame Impala's Lonerism came at #3

Nas' Life is good wasn't even top 20 that year

So yeah sure, the source gave it a nice placement on their list in 2012, but the source is only 1 publication out of 131

wow, I just checked...

Kdot was #2 in 2012
#1 in 2015
#1 in 2017