In November 2024, Kendrick Lamar’s sixth album, “GNX,” arrived as big records often do these days — with little warning, other than a teaser video that dropped less than an hour before the surprise release. But for those under the rapper’s cone of silence for the past three years, “GNX” was the culmination of hard work and collaboration that met the moment head-on.

Lamar, fresh from arguably the most high-profile beef in hip-hop history (the one with Drake that reached a fever pitch last year), delivered an album that invoked the sounds of West Coast rap music while re-centering the national spotlight on his native Compton. The reaction was nothing short of rapturous: He has secured nine Grammy nominations for 2026, including album of the year and song and record of the year, and he per

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