gnx

Mariachi Singer Deyra Barrera Tells Backstory Behind Her Kendrick Lamar Collabs On “GNX”

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One of the most surprising but welcome elements of Kendrick Lamar’s new album GNX is the feature list, with stars SZA and Roddy Ricch catching people’s ears. However, there are also a lot of hard-hitting West Coast rappers on the tracklist, plus some gorgeous vocal contributions from one Deyra Barrera from Tucson, Arizona. The mariachi singer told Rolling Stone of how she linked up with the Compton lyricist. She explained that their collaborative origin was when she sang a tribute at Game 1 of the World Series to former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who passed away in October.

“My skin gets goosebumps because all of this happened so quickly for me,” Deyra Barrera recalled to the publication about this “blessing.” “I want to cry. This is taking me by surprise. I was in tears, singing for my friend who died, at a packed stadium. And, el señor [Kendrick Lamar] was there. He listened to me sing. I believe in angels. And [Valenzuela] is an angel for me. I had no idea what I would record. I make mariachi, not rap. They told me they wanted my style, my voice. I had no idea how it was going to end up on the record. He welcomed me and was so kind. He said, ‘You have such a powerful voice. Thanks for coming.’ I had no idea what to say. Lamar is a genius, a maestro. Everything he makes is magic.

Read More: Kendrick Lamar Causes Huge Debate Over New Album “GNX” Doing Big Numbers

Deyra Barrera’s Performance That Captivated Kendrick Lamar

“Ever since I can remember, we’ve sung to pay for rent and to make enough money to eat,” Deyra Barrera remarked of the path that led her to this moment with Kendrick Lamar. “It’s been many years of highs and lows, but I haven’t thrown the towel in because this is what I love. I hope this helps me. This industry is really difficult. I need to take advantage of this God-given moment to grow as a singer. From now on, I need to work a lot to have more people listen to my music, and learn who I am. I know Kendrick is going to do the Super Bowl Halftime Show… Imagine if he invited me to sing with him? That would be incredible. I hope people know that it’s Deyra Barrera who is on these songs.”

Days after that World Series game, Deyra Barrera was in Kendrick Lamar’s studio hearing the beats from the album. She wrote down some lines evoking the emotions that Kendrick’s team told her he wanted to present. Eventually, K.Dot stopped by to greet Barrera and express his gratitude for her contributions, even though she says they didn’t get to spend much time together after discussing their ideas. She appears on GNX‘s intro, “wacced out murals,” the track “reincarnated,” and the album’s outro, “gloria.”

Read More: Kendrick Lamar Praises Ab-Soul’s Lyrical Abilities On New Album

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Lizzo Replicates Kendrick Lamar’s Iconic Mustard Shout-Out On Stream With Kai Cenat & SZA

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Recently, Lizzo and SZA joined Kai Cenat for Mafiathon 2, his 30-day livestream that began earlier this month. Unsurprisingly, several moments from the stream have already gone viral. At one point in the stream, for example, Lizzo referenced Kendrick Lamar’s song “tv off,” which appears on his new album GNX. Kendrick screams Mustard’s name in the middle of the song, which quickly became a meme following the surprise release.

Lizzo leaned into this during the stream, abruptly shouting Mustard and getting laughs from both SZA and Cenat. The funny moment took place shortly after Mustard himself shared his reaction to the iconic shout-out. According to him, he had no idea the album would drop when it did and heard the final version of “tv off” with the rest of the world. “You know what’s cr*zy? It was a surprise for me, just like it was a surprise for everybody else,” he told Billboard. “I had been thinking maybe it’s going to come at the top of the year, maybe it’s going to come around the Super Bowl or whatever.”

Read More: Lana Del Rey Responds To Lizzo Beef Rumors

Lizzo Shows Love To Kendrick Lamar’s New Album During Kai Cenat’s Mafiathon 2 With SZA

“That sh*t was elite,” he said of Kendrick shouting his name mid-song. “So fire. Like, is that a new tag? I can’t wait to perform that song and just hear people just saying that, ‘cause everybody’s going to say that like cr*zy.” Lizzo is far from the only one leaning into the meme, however. Recently, the official McDonald’s X account shared an image of a sauce packet labeled “Honey MUSTARRRRRRRRRDDDDD” much to social media users’ amusement.

The post even earned a reaction from Mustard himself, who replied “Omg lol.” This wasn’t the only notable moment from SZA and Lizzo’s appearance on Kai Cenat’s stream either. During the stream, SZA also suggested that her next album could arrive “before the year is over,” meaning within weeks.

Read More: Lizzo Laughs Off Antonio Brown’s Latest Jabs About Ozempic

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Kendrick Lamar Causes Huge Debate Over New Album “GNX” Doing Big Numbers

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Kendrick Lamar only seems to rise even higher as as a superstar over time, and his new album GNX‘s streaming numbers so far certainly reflect that. Moreover, the project reportedly garnered over 120 million streams after 31 hours of tracking since its near-midday (EST) drop on Friday (November 22). Considering the surprise nature of this release plus its 12 tracks, these are some great numbers to pull as an opening. But of course, when you’re one of the greatest, people expect that much more from you. So inevitable comparisons to other commercial performances, particularly Drake’s, ensued quite quickly. And we’re sad to say they are no less exhausting this time around on both sides.

Speaking of Drake, a lot of people are wondering how he feels about this new Kendrick Lamar album. From what he’s posted online and such these days, he doesn’t seem very bothered, which is great to see. The 6ix God has a PARTYNEXTDOOR collab album on the way and probably a whole lot of plans keeping him busy right now as he preps for another year. The sooner both he and K.Dot can move on from the beef, the better for their careers, which the latter is clearly benefitting from now.

Read More: TDE’s Top Dawg Warns Everyone To “Stand Down” After Kendrick Lamar’s New Album “GNX”

Kendrick Lamar Streams Big On Spotify With GNX

But while a lot of people streamed GNX, plenty of people did not like Kendrick Lamar’s new album, including Compton rapper Snoopy Badazz. He thought the project was “trash” and also defended Drake, saying that he’s in no sort of danger in Los Angeles and is still superior. This prompted a lot of divided reactions from naysayers and yes men alike, which should come as no surprise. A big part of the negativity toward the pgLang lyricist, for whatever reason, is his connection to Compton and how he’s moved within the wider music industry.

Nevertheless, it’s clear that a lot of people are enjoying this latest effort to the fullest, and will keep bumping GNX for a while. Kendrick Lamar also has folks very excited for what could come next, especially considering there’s a Super Bowl halftime show on the horizon. We’ll see just how much this numbers debate evolves over the next few weeks.

Read More: Kendrick Lamar “GNX” Full Credits: SZA, Mustard, Roddy Ricch & More

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Akbar V Is “Hype” At The Idea Of A Kendrick Lamar & Lil Wayne Beef

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The idea of Kendrick Lamar and Lil Wayne feuding has Akbar V excited. She weighed in on the budding beef between the two rappers on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday night. The comments come after Lamar referenced Wayne on the opening track, “wacced out murals,” from his new album, GNX.

“If I’m not mistaken ion think Wayne said anything bout Kendrick doing the Super Bowl the fans did …. I’m kind of happy Kendrick started something cause Wayne need to drop new music we miss him … oh i fear he have awakened the sleeping giant …. lil Wayne is bout to serve,” she wrote in one post on X. Later in the day, she added: “I love hiphop i get toooo hype when rap beef be going on …. It gives us the opportunity to see artist strength in there pens.”

Read More: Kendrick Lamar Calls Out Lil Wayne For Lack Of Support After Super Bowl Announcement

Lil Wayne Performs At Lil Weezyana Fest

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – NOVEMBER 02: Lil Wayne performs during Lil Weezyana Fest 2024 at Smoothie King Center on November 02, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images)

With his new song, Lamar referenced Wayne complaining that the NFL didn’t choose him to perform at the upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Show. He rapped: “I used to bump ‘Tha Carter 3’, I held my Rollie chain proud. Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down… Got the Super Bowl and Nas the only one congratulate me, all these n****s agitated I’m just glad it’s on they faces.”

Akbar V Weighs In On Kendrick Lamar & Lil Wayne Drama

Wayne responded to the lyrics with a post on X the following day. He wrote: “Man wtf I do?! I just be chillin & dey still kome 4 my head. Let’s 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.” Check out Akbar V’s response to Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics about Lil Wayne below.

Read More: Lil Wayne Warns He Will “Destroy If Disturbed” After Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX” Lyric

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Compton Rapper Snoopy Badazz Disses Kendrick Lamar’s New Album “GNX” And Defends Drake

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Not every Compton rapper is looking for a Kendrick Lamar cosign, and not everyone is a fan of his latest West Coast-centric album, GNX. Snoopy Badazz is one MC from the city who’s been pretty vocally against Kendrick, leading to a lot of pushback from Los Angeles citizens who feel like Snoopy isn’t even recognized in his hometown, as you can see based on some replies to the Twitter post below. Badazz called the album “trash” and also said that Drake is in no sort of danger in L.A. All in all, it certainly caused plenty of discussion and division among fans, but that’s been a constant for the whole year, so who’s surprised?

Interestingly enough, Snoopy Badazz reportedly signed to Death Row under Snoop Dogg, who also had some interesting thoughts on GNX. “K Dot new album GNX,” he tweeted. “It was the edibles. West West King.” Tha Doggfather made reference to Kendrick Lamar’s bars for him on the new album’s intro, “wacced out murals.” “Snoop posted ‘Taylor Made’, I prayed it was the edibles / I couldn’t believe it, it was only right for me to let it go,” he rapped on the cut. “Taylor Made Freestyle” was one of Drake’s first disses against K.Dot in 2024, infamously using Snoop and 2Pac A.I. vocals.

Read More: Kendrick Lamar Chronicles Some Of His Toughest Career Decisions On “Heart Pt. 6”

Snoopy Badazz Is Not A Kendrick Lamar Fan

Other Compton or California rap peers, though, are highly supportive of Kendrick Lamar’s new album, including his longtime partner Top Dawg. “Dot is a dangerous man right now,” he shared on Instagram following GNX‘s release. “Everything I thought he would be at 16 years old is here right now. Everybody stand down. I promise you.”

Meanwhile, back to Snoopy Badazz’s defense of Drake, the 6ix God seems pretty unbothered by this whole thing. After all, he’s got a collab album with PARTYNEXTDOOR coming out pretty soon, so he’s obviously got much bigger things on his mind than whatever Kendrick Lamar is up to. But just as that ruckus can’t break the Toronto superstar’s focus, the OVO-led campaign against the Compton lyricist has barely made a dent in the armor. But of course, the fanbase war will continue.

Read More: Gary Owen Reacts To Kendrick Lamar’s “White Comedian” Lyric

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Drake Plays Basketball With OVO Crew Amid Explosive Kendrick Lamar Album Reactions

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As social media continues to erupt with posts about Kendrick Lamar’s new album, GNX, Drake is seemingly doing his best to stay out of it. The Compton rapper unleashed the project on Friday (November 22) with zero notice, expectedly leaving social media users in shambles. As reactions to the explosive drop continue to roll in, many have been clowning Drake after what’s already been an incredibly rough year.

Fortunately, it doesn’t look like he’s letting all of this get him down. In a new clip, he’s seen playing basketball with a few members of his OVO crew. They all appeared to be in good spirits amid the intense game, which seems to have taken place at Drake’s home. Obviously, there are few who know how Drake is actually feeling right now. Either way, fans and critics alike continue to speculate. This isn’t the first they’ve seen of Drake since the release of GNX, however. Yesterday, he also took to his Instagram Story to share one of his infamous mirror selfies.

Read More: DeMar DeRozan Hints At Being “Tipped Off” About Kendrick Lamar Album Following Drake Beef

Drake Keeps His Mind Off Of Online Trolling

He also looked relatively unbothered in that shot, sporting a leather jacket and his signature pout. After all, he has plenty going on in his own career to worry about, including an upcoming collaborative album with PartyNextDoor and a big stream with xQc later today. He is tuned in on some level despite this, as evidenced by a message he reportedly sent during one of Los Pollos’ recent livestreams. The streamer had been discussing Pokimane revealing that Drake’s decision to partner with gambling company Stake left her disappointed.

“When I heard Drake was involved with Stake, my heart broke, I’ma be honest,“ she admitted. “I still love his music … but, now, I don’t love him as much as a person.” In response, Drake quoted one of the most iconic lines from “Euphoria” by Kendrick Lamar. “I watched the clip what’s she mad about? Is it the braids??!?” he asked.

Read More: Drake Allegedly Recites “Euphoria” In Response To Pokimane

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DeMar DeRozan Hints At Being “Tipped Off” About Kendrick Lamar Album Following Drake Beef

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On Friday, Kendrick Lamar left fans and critics alike in shock after dropping an entire new album without warning. Evidently, however, not everybody was totally in the dark about GNX before it was released. During a conversation with reporters after the Sacramento Kings lost to the Los Angeles Clippers this weekend, DeMar DeRozan shared his take on the album and suggested that he might have known it was coming.

“Proud of him. Another masterpiece,” DeRozan said of Kendrick’s album. “As for my favorite song, probably ‘TV Off.’” He was later asked whether or not he had been “tipped off” that GNX would be dropping. While he didn’t exactly confirm this, he did joke about it being the case. “Maybe I knew,” he said, earning laughs from others in the locker room. DeRozan has been a vocal supporter of Kendrick for some time now, despite it seemingly getting in the way of his allegedly former friendship with Drake.

Read More: Gary Owen Reacts To Kendrick Lamar’s “White Comedian” Lyric

DeMar DeRozan Discusses Kendrick Lamar’s New Album GNX

For those who don’t recall, DeRozan appeared at Kendrick’s “Pop Out” show in Los Angeles earlier this year, and in his “Not Like Us” music video. In July, he told The Sacramento Bee that he was still on good terms with the Toronto rapper regardless. “Drake’s still my man, still my man, none of it changed,” he said in part. “It’s so easy to get overlooked and look at it for what it looks like, but at the end of the day it’s music, entertainment. Two of the biggest rappers in the world went at it from a competitive standpoint and they battled it out.”

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Drake feels the same way, as evidenced by his behavior at a game this month. “If you ever put a DeRozan banner up, I’ll go up there and pull it down myself,” Drake said. Drizzy was also spotted staring DeRozan down throughout the evening, and said it was “unfortunate” they were “playing this goof.”

Read More: Hitmaka Can’t Stop Playing Kendrick Lamar’s Entire “GNX” LP

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Kendrick Lamar Chronicles Some Of His Toughest Career Decisions On “Heart Pt. 6”

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“The Heart” series has returned to its rightful owner. With the stunning release of GNX over the weekend, Kendrick Lamar has also taken back his claim to fame. Drake’s attempt to one-up K. Dot at his own game didn’t go so well, as many spectators of the beef were pretty disgusted with it. In fact, him removing “THE HEART PART 6” from his social media further cemented it as the least significant record during the beef. All along, it set things up perfectly for Kendrick Lamar to properly release “heart pt. 6.”

So far, it’s one of the most talked about songs on the tracklist thanks to its detailed chronicling of some important moments. During the near five-minute story, Lamar recalls how his relationships evolved with some of TDE’s current stars such as Ab-Soul, ScHoolboy Q, TDE Punch, and Dave Free. The accounts with Q and Punch are especially raw and inspirational, as Lamar was always learning from everyone at the label no matter their standing within. On the third verse of “heart pt. 6,” Kendrick Lamar then fast forwards things to him becoming a superstar and him “carryin’ debates of a top five.” At this point, Lamar painfully realizes that it may be time to part ways with TDE. He has goals in mind of becoming more than just an MC, and he felt he “poured everything I had left in the family business.” It’s a gripping listen, as Kendrick proves to be a master storyteller time and time again.

Read More: Noochie’s “Live From The Front Porch” Comes To Fox Soul

“Heart Pt. 6” – Kendrick Lamar

Quotable Lyrics:

I jog my memory, knowin’ Black Hippy didn’t work ’cause of me
Creatively, I moved on with new concepts in reach
Top, remember all them sessions we would strategize
To hit the streets, then come back, record three records? Ah
To tell the truth, it f***ed me up when D-Man passed
The motive was the condolences, but the pride crashed

Read More: Hitmaka Can’t Stop Playing Kendrick Lamar’s Entire “GNX” LP

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TDE’s Top Dawg Warns Everyone To “Stand Down” After Kendrick Lamar’s New Album “GNX”

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Top Dawg knew Kendrick Lamar was a monster, and now that he’s supposedly fully unleashed, he’s warning everyone to stay out of the way. “Dot is a dangerous man right now,” the TDE label boss wrote on his Instagram Story over the weekend, referring to K.Dot’s brand new surprise album GNX. “Everything I thought he would be at 16 years old is here right now. Everybody stand down. I promise you.” No one really knows what Top talked about with these last few statements, but some fans took it the hard way and argued why other rappers could still beat Kendrick in a battle.

Of course, a lot of people agree with Top Dawg instead and consider Kendrick Lamar to be at the absolute top of the game right now. Reactions to GNX have been pretty varied, but for the most part, everyone is at least appreciative of him really going hard in his verses in ways we haven’t heard from in a while when it comes to a project setting. Now we just have to wait to find out if theories about a second album coming soon actually pan out…

Read More: Gary Owens Reacts To Kendrick Lamar’s “White Comedian” Lyric

Top Dawg Thinks Kendrick Lamar Is A “Dangerous Man”

Many other hip-hop figures beyond the TDE realm continue to share their takes about Kendrick Lamar and GNX, including the one and only Nas. “Always inspired by my brother KL,” he shared on Instagram about GNX and Kendrick’s shout-out to him on the intro track, “wacced out murals.” “Keeping the essence of this s**t alive and at the forefront. Salute King!” While it’s only been out a weekend, it’s already been a lot of fun to discuss this project and find out new nuggets about it with each listen. Does that make the Compton lyricist a “dangerous man?” Yes, in some fans’ eyes, and they are ecstatic about it.

Meanwhile, TDE’s Punch is also loving the back-and-forths, as he recently reacted to Snoop Dogg’s apology to Kendrick Lamar following a lyrical mention. On GNX‘s “heart pt. 6,” Kendrick talks about coming up through Top Dawg Entertainment and the special bonds that it created. Even though they went their separate ways, to see them continue to support each other is always heartening.

Read More: Hitmaka Can’t Stop Playing Kendrick Lamar’s Entire “GNX” LP

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Gary Owens Reacts To Kendrick Lamar’s “White Comedian” Lyric

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While the line was about Andrew Schulz, fellow white comedian Gary Owens takes advantage of Kendrick Lamar’s new track, “wacced out murals,” to gain attention on social media. Following the release of Lamar’s track “wacced out murals” from the new project, Owen shared his thoughts on Instagram, stirring up a wave of backlash online. Kendrick’s song contains the following line: “Don’t let no white comedian talk about no Black women—that’s law.” Owen joked, “If that’s law, that makes me a criminal.” Known for his past marriage to Kenya Duke, a Black woman, Owen’s attempt at humor seemed to draw more ire than laughs.

Naturally, Owens jokes would receive backlash. Social media erupted with criticism. Instagram user @realruebenwood remarked, “He probably shouldn’t have said anything since his name wasn’t mentioned.” Others, like @violapatrice94, dismissed the comment as tone-deaf, writing, “This ain’t the flex he thinks it is.” The sentiment was echoed by @sarkimberly, who added, “Gary Owen truly believes because he married a Black woman he gets a FULL PASS, and it’s concerning.”

Read more: Gary Owens Net Worth 2024: What Is The Comedian Worth?

Gary Owens Pokes Fun At Himself With “wacced out murals” Verse 

GNX continues to generate buzz. Lamar’s album is being praised for its bold themes and sharp lyricism, but the conversations it has sparked inside and outside the music world- showcase the artist’s unique ability to provoke thought and emotion. Rap has flooded social media with reactions, memes, reviews, etc. One of the biggest trends to come out of the new release is Mustard’s name referral by Lamar on the track “tv off.” McDonald’s took the opportunity to join the producer’s trend with their own signature post.

GNX features chart-topping hits “luther,” “tv off,” and “squabble up.” The surprise drop addresses Lil Wayne’s Super Bowl snub, subliminal disses, Nas’s acknowledgment, and more. In less than 24 hours, the first release of Kendrick’s PgLang imprint reached number one on the Apple Music charts. Outside the album, Kendrick Lamar is currently in the race for “Record of the Year” at the upcoming Grammy Awards. 

Read more: Gary Owen Hilariously Details Why Tyrese Allegedly Hates Him

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