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Kevin Winter / Workers by way of Getty Photos
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Kendrick Lamar, Sounwave, Dave Free and Mustard settle for the Track of the Yr award for “Not Like Us” onstage throughout the 67th Annual Grammy Awards
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Key Takeaways:
- Kendrick Lamar started engaged on GNX instantly after releasing Mr. Morale & The Huge Steppers in 2022.
- DJ Mustard and Sounwave pushed their manufacturing boundaries to align with Kendrick’s evolving sound.
- Jack Antonoff contributed to the ultimate 12-track album, which was chosen from practically 100 songs and contains viral hits like “television off.”
Kendrick Lamar’s GNX album was a momentous event because of hits just like the SZA-assisted “luther,” and the wave of momentum sparked by “Not Like Us.” In a Selection article from Wednesday (Dec. 3), collaborators DJ Mustard and Sounwave supplied perception into Okay. Dot’s artistic course of behind the venture.
It seems that as quickly because the Compton rapper finalized his prior album, 2022’s Mr. Morale & The Huge Steppers, he started engaged on music that may ultimately flip into late 2024’s GNX. The Pulitzer Prize winner’s recording was so prolific that he reportedly ended up with round 100 songs to ultimately whittle down into an album.
Sounwave, who has been working with Lamar since 2009’s Kendrick Lamar EP, supplied perception into the method of attending to the 12-song GNX. “The start of it was throwing paint on the wall,” Sounwave instructed the publication. “And it began to kind this huge funky West groove that we love as a result of [Kendrick and I are] from Compton. And in that, I began to understand the individuals who we should always herald to push it even additional, just like the Mustards, the Jacks … I used to be very lucky to have these associates who’re very proficient to push it to the subsequent degree.”
These associates embrace singer, songwriter and Taylor Swift collaborator Jack Antonoff, who first labored with King Kendrick on the Drake diss document “6:16 in LA” in 2024. The opposite is DJ Mustard, who produced the anthemic “Not Like Us.” Each would ultimately have their fingerprints throughout GNX. Mustard, particularly, took no probabilities when it got here to creating positive his first hit collaboration with Lamar wasn’t his final.
“I knew that I couldn’t ship Kendrick regular Mustard beats,” Mustard instructed Selection. “I used to be sending [Kendrick] all varieties of s**t, something that I assumed gave the impression of one thing that I’ve by no means made earlier than. That’s what I used to be going for, as a result of Kendrick is completely different.”
It turned out that his second smash with Lamar, “television off,” was really the results of a mix of two separate instrumentals that Mustard had offered.
“I by no means requested Jack or Wave who put these two beats collectively, or Kendrick,” Mustard stated. “I care, however I don’t care. I used to be similar to, that was nice.”
That’s an understatement. The track went viral off the power of Lamar screaming “Mustard!” as a segue between its two-part instrumental, and in flip, received the eye of Heinz. The model then collaborated with DJ Mustard on his personal particular taste of the condiment.
As for Kendrick Lamar, he’s up for 9 Grammy Awards in 2026, together with Album of the Yr for GNX.