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Kendrick Lamar accepts the Best Rap Album award for ‘GNX’ onstage during the 68th annual Grammy Awards
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Key Takeaways:
- Kendrick Lamar’s “tv off” soundtracks Buick’s new commercial, tying into the themes of his GNX album.
- The advertisement features both a classic Buick Grand National Experimental and the 2026 Envista, blending past and present.
- Lamar’s history with the Buick Regal deepens the campaign’s cultural resonance.
Kendrick Lamar continues to be a marketing department’s dream. The Compton rapper’s hit song “tv off” provides the soundscape for a new Buick commercial.
The stuttering key hits of the Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Mustard, Kamasi Washington, Sean Momberger and Larry “Larry Jayy” Sanders-produced track, along with his iconic “all I ever wanted was a black Grand National,” are heard throughout the initially black and white commercial. At first, the classic Buick GNX model that inspired K. Dot’s GNX album is featured. The camera then pans out from the vintage television set to showcase a red 2026 Buick Envista.
While the Buick Regal GNX was a high-end mid-size sedan, the Envista is touted as a compact crossover SUV. Lamar has said that his father took him home after his birth in a Buick Regal, and he developed an affinity for the vehicle. The “squabble up” artist purchased his own rare GNX (short for the Buick Grand National Experimental) in early 2024. The significance of the post he shared on his “finsta” about his purchase wouldn’t be fully realized by fans until the GNX album’s arrival in November 2024.
The arrival of the new Buick spot is timely considering Lamar just won another five Grammys on Sunday (Feb. 1). The new hardware he earned at the 2026 Grammy Awards brings his total to 27, propelling him ahead of JAY-Z as the rapper with the most Grammy trophies.
“Every time I tell you this, Hip Hop is going to always be right here,” Lamar said from the stage while accepting his Grammy for Best Rap album. “We [are] going to be in these suits, we going to be looking good, we going to be having our folks with us. We [are] going to be having the culture with us… God is the glory, love y’all.”