luther
Kendrick Lamar & SZA
·
20242024
If there were any remaining doubts as to hip-hop’s MVP, consider the decision stamped: Kendrick Lamar officially won 2024. There were whispers that Compton’s finest was working on an album in the wake of his feud with Drake, a once-in-a-generation beef that kept jaws dropped for months. (Perhaps you’ve heard of a little song called “Not Like Us,” an immediate entry into the canon of all-time great diss tracks.) After a sold-out celebration at the Kia Forum, an armful of Grammy nods and streaming records, and the headlining slot at next year’s Super Bowl, Lamar ties up his biggest year yet with a bow with his sixth album, GNX, the most legitimately surprising surprise drop since BEYONCÉ in 2013.
Named for his beloved classic Buick, GNX finds Kendrick wielding a hatchet he’s by no means ready to bury, still channeling this summer’s cranked-to-11 energy. On “wacced out murals,” he’s riding around listening to Anita Baker, plotting on several downfalls: “It used to be fuck that n***a, but now it’s plural/Fuck everybody, that’s on my body.” (Yes, there’s a nod to his Super Bowl drama with Lil Wayne.) If you’ve been holding your breath for Jack Antonoff to link with Mustard, wait no more—the seemingly odd couple share production credits on multiple tracks, the explosive “tv off” among them.
Still, K.Dot keeps you guessing: It’s not quite 12 tracks of straight venom over world-conquering West Coast beats. SZA helps cool things down on the Luther Vandross-sampling “luther,” while Lamar snatches back a borrowed title on “heart pt. 6” to remember the early days of TDE: “Grinding with my brothers, it was us against them, no one above us/Bless our hearts.” He cycles through past lives over a flip of 2Pac’s “Made N****z” on “reincarnated” before getting real with his father about war, peace, addiction, and ego death, and on “man at the garden,” he outlines his qualifications for the position of GOAT. Here’s another bullet point to add to that CV: On GNX, Lamar still surprises while giving the people exactly what they want.
Lyrics
[Intro]
If this world were mine
[Verse 1: Kendrick Lamar]
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
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
[Chorus: SZA, SZA & Kendrick Lamar]
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
[Verse 2: Kendrick Lamar & SZA]
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)
[Chorus: Kendrick Lamar & SZA]
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
[Verse 3: Kendrick Lamar & SZA]
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
[Outro: SZA]
I know you're comin' for
Better days
If this world were mine
