Kendrick Lamar would have no problem putting together multiple untitled unmastered.-type projects (or at least a very lengthy deluxe) for his GNX album, if the Compton rap king felt like blessing his fans with new music.
In a new interview with Variety reflecting on the making of the chart-topping, Grammy-winning project, Kendrick’s longtime producer Sounwave revealed that between 80 and 100 songs were recorded for GNX. (12 tracks made the final cut.)
It’s further revealed that Kendrick began making the album back in 2022 “almost immediately” after the release of Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, and the album originally had a “funky West [Coast] groove” sound before the likes of Jack Antonoff and Mustard were brought in to “push it to the next level.”
Mustard was an especially important piece of the puzzle, lending his signature sound to standout tracks such as “Hey Now” and “TV Off.” For the latter, the multi-platinum producer actually sent two separate beats to Kendrick, who delivered a stroke of genius by combining them to make the Super Bowl-status anthem it is today.
“I never asked Jack or [Soun]wave who put those two beats together,” Mustard told Variety. “I was just like, that was great.”
Reflecting on the impact of GNX one year later, Sounwave said: “It basically shows that there’s no boundaries. We hate to just keep doing the same thing over and over. It’s something we kind of thrive off of, just reinventing yourself. Do stuff that makes it exciting, and the people who supported you will be excited with you.
“I kid you not: yesterday there was a 60-year-old woman driving down the street rapping a ‘GNX’ song word for word. Just to see that my home is still playing it as if it just came out … that’s special.”
A GNX deluxe has long been rumored to be in the works. In an interview with Bootleg Kev last year, Lefty Gunplay (who appears on “TV Off”) claimed that Kendrick Lamar was putting together an expanded edition of the album.
“He has some stuff. We did two, three songs. He has some stuff in the chamber. He told me that we’re going to work again, for sure,” the Los Angeles native said.
He later added: “I know he’s got a deluxe version coming out. He’s very secretive.”
Kendrick himself has yet to address the speculation and it’s unclear if a GNX deluxe will actually happen.
