Busta Rhymes says Kendrick Lamar “raised the bar” with ‘GNX’ album
Busta Rhymes has heaped huge praise on Kendrick Lamar’s new album GNX, which was released as a surprise on November 22nd.
The follow-up to 2022’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers showcases 12 tracks with features from the likes of SZA and Roddy Ricch, serving as his first output since going back and forth with Drake earlier this year.
A collaborator and longtime fan of Lamar, Busta Rhymes hopped onto social media to share his thoughts about his latest project. The NYC rapper thanked K.Dot for his contribution to hip-hop and noted his skillset as an MC.
“King Kendrick, such an incredible body of work! Brilliance and lyrical craftsmanship at its finest!!” he wrote on Instagram alongside the GNX cover art. “Thank you for continuing to raise the bar!!”
Busta worked with Lamar on ‘Look Over Your Shoulder‘ from 2020’s Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God. Despite being released four years ago, the song, produced by Nottz and sampling The Jackson 5’s ‘I’ll Be There’, was actually recorded in 2016 but got left in the stash.
“I got to big-up Kendrick, I got a big-up Top Dawg, the whole TDE family,” Busta told Zane Lowe. “I got to thank all of the people that was involved with clearing this shit for me and giving me their blessing on being able to use this. And it just was unbelievable, and incredible, and just profound for me to be blessed with this gift.”
In 2022, Busta Rhymes claimed Kendrick Lamar was making the best music videos of today after seeing his ‘The Heart Part 5‘ visual, which saw the Compton native morph into Kanye West, Nipsey Hussle, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, O J Simpson and Jussie Smollett.
“That video was special, and they set a bar for the new generation when it came to the revolutionary visual impact that me and Missy were always successful at executing,” Busta told Billboard. “The balance of simplicity and complexity in it is so incredibly powerful, and that’s not an easy balance to find.”
He added, “I’m still looking to see who will come up with some shit that’s gonna fuck with that. So visually, I’m giving Kendrick the crown. And that’s just one of the many things that Kendrick gets the crown for from me right now.”