luther (with sza)—Kendrick Lamar
#365Songs: November 22nd
intro
(If this world were mine)
verse
Hey, Roman numeral seven, bae, drop it like it’s hot
If this world was mine, I’d take your dreams and make ’em multiply
If this world was mine, I’d take your enemies in front of God
Introduce ’em to that light, hit them strictly with that fire
Fah-fah, fah-fah-fah, fah-fah, fah
I can’t remember the last time I wrote one of these music essays and actually mentioned the song at all. I don’t know about you, but I could use a positive affirmation anthem to get me through these darker days. So let’s leave it to Kendrick to hit us with exactly what we need, when we need it.
I don’t love throwing around the phrase GOAT, but Kendrick has already pieced together one of the most sophisticated and influential catalogs in Hip hop history. On Friday, he dropped an unannounced album, GNX, and it’s been playing nonstop in my ears ever since. Pure vibe and unapologetically introspective, many songs pay homage to Kendrick’s heroes — without sacrificing long-running gripes. It’s a worthy debate to contemplate if it’s as good as anything he’s ever recorded.
Hey, Roman numeral seven, bae, drop it like it’s hot
If this world was mine, I’d take your dreams and make ’em multiply
If this world was mine, I’d take your enemies in front of God
Introduce ’em to that light, hit them strictly with that fire
It’s a vibe, do your dance, let ’em watch
She a fan, he a flop, they just wanna kumbaya, nah
I wasn’t a fan of the Kendrick / Drake battle earlier this year, as it was a throwback to the sort of 90’s-era feuds that ended poorly. And even though a few of the tracks were amusing, it left me wondering how much of that would end up on a future album. The answer? None of it. Thankfully.
There’s an optimistic, hopeful spirit to many of the tracks on GNX, and as with many of us, perhaps Kendrick needed to scrape the darker parts of his past to say fuck it and create the future he deserves. It’s quite the contrast to 2022’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, a complex, death dark grief-struck masterpiece that met the mid-pandemic moment — an album I listened to once, from beginning to end, in awe, and have never returned to again.
In this world, concrete flowers grow
Heartache, she only doin’ what she know
Weekends, get it poppin’ on the low
Better days comin’ for sure
If this world were-
If it was up to me
I wouldn’t give these nobodies no sympathy
I’d take away the pain, I’d give you everything
I just wanna see you win, wanna see
If this world were mine
If my 2024 were a Kendrick album, it’d most certainly be Mr. Morale. One day a few years down the line I’ll go back and revisit what I’ve written during the long hard hours of 2024 and pay homage to lessons learned and respect the scars a little more — and hopefully laugh at how wrong I was about AI and Fascism, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But as I crawl towards a new year — even as I come to terms with what awaits on January 20th — I also find myself trying to shake off the long-held malaise and reclaim some swagger, some ‘fuck it all throw it at me I’m tougher than you think’ energy that’ll help me kick down some doors and make good shit happen again.
If my 2025 can be a Kendrick album, let it be GNX. Let that be true for all of us. Enough’s enough.
It go in (when you), out (ride it), do it real slow (slide)
Baby, you a star, strike, pose
When I’m (when you), with you (with me), everything goes (slow)
Come and (put that), put that (on my), on my (titi), soul (soul)
‘Rari (red), crown (stack), wrist (stay), froze (really)
Drip (tell me), pound (if you), on the way home (love me)
In this world, concrete flowers grow
Heartache, she only doin’ what she know
Weekends, get it poppin’ on the low
Better days comin’ for sure
If this world were-
If it was up to me
I wouldn’t give these nobodies no sympathy
I’d take away the pain, I’d give you everything
I just wanna see you win, wanna see
If this world were mine
I can’t lie, I trust you, I love you, I won’t waste your time
I turn it off just so I can turn you on
I’ma make you say it loud
I’m not even trippin’, I won’t stress you out
I might even settle down for you, I’ma show you I’m a pro
I’ma take my time and turn it off, just so I can turn you on, baby
Weekends, get it poppin’ on the low
Better days comin’ for sure (I know you’re comin’, I know you’re comin’ for)
outro
(If this world were mine)
~
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