American rapper Kendrick Lamar surprisingly released a new album, GNX.
Around 17:00 GMT on Friday, the 12-track album—the artist’s sixth studio release—was posted to his social media accounts.
The album features input from Kamasi Washington and American R&B artist SZA.
Lamar’s first album since 2022’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, GNX, was released in advance of his February Super Bowl halftime show headline performance.
It caps off an eventful year for Lamar, whose recent music has been fuelled by a long-running feud with Canadian star Drake.
Lamar, a multiple Grammy Award winner and Pulitzer Prize winner for music, had been rumored to be working on a new record for months.
The album has received largely excellent early reviews, and fans have praised his new release on social media.
“Whatever comes next, the Pulitzer Prize winner has written another thrilling chapter in what remains the most fascinating longform story in hip-hop,” wrote AP News.
The news outlet called Lamar “an ambitious and searingly talented poet from Compton working through his – and the world’s – contradictions on the biggest stage, forever discomforted by his crown”.
Taylor Swift, the music sensation, does not seem to have made it, despite some speculating that she would.
The rapper previously collaborated with Swift on the song “Bad Blood” from the 1989 album.
Nonetheless, SZA contributes her voice to the songs Gloria and Luther.
In a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Lamar and SZA discussed a variety of subjects, including mental health and spirituality.