Kendrick Lamar is set to drop a deluxe version of his surprise album GNX, according to collaborator Lefty Gunplay.
Sitting down for a chat with Bootleg Kev to discuss working with Kendrick on “TV Off,” the West Coast rapper seemed to confirm that the “Not Like Us” star still has some tricks up his sleeve.
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Kev asked Gunplay if he had any contributions cut from the album, to which he replied: “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.”
He later added: “I know he’s got a deluxe version coming out. He’s very secretive.”
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Gunplay also revealed that he was asked to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) before working with Kendrick: “Everybody thought that I was playing — I wasn’t, though, as much as I wanted to tell everybody. I almost blew it. ‘Cause we signed NDAs and I couldn’t wait to tell everybody.
“We had to sign NDAs and they were like, ‘You’re going [in the studio] with Kendrick’ and it didn’t hit me ’til he walked in there and gave me a hug. He’s been locked in with me since April and he said that I’m the missing piece that the West Coast needed.”
GNX is exected to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 and will mark Kendrick Lamar’s fifth consecutive chart-topping album.
According to HITS Daily Double, the 12-track project is projected to earn 291,000 equivalent album units in its first week, including just over 30,000 in pure sales.
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That figure means GNX would comfortably secure the top spot on next week’s chart, beating out the Wicked soundtrack which is on track to open with over 100,000 units.
Compared to other major rap albums from 2024, GNX would rank third in first-week consumption behind Travis Scott‘s Days Before Rodeo re-release (361,000) and Tyler, The Creator‘s Chromakopia (299,500).
However, it would out-perform projects such as Eminem‘s The Death of Slim Shady (281,000), Future and Metro Boomin‘s We Don’t Trust You (251,000) and Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign‘s Vultures 1 (148,000).
On the singles front, Kendrick is also having a booming week with “TV Off” currently number one on both Spotify and Apple Music’s U.S. charts, with “Squabble Up” and the SZA-assisted “Luther” also ranking highly.
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On next week’s Billboard Hot 100, the Compton rapper has a chance to end Shaboozey’s historic 19-week run atop the chart.
According to ” target=”_blank”>Billboard, both “TV Off” and “Squabble Up” are in the running to debut at number one thanks to very strong streaming numbers.
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It will mark Kendrick’s third chart-topping single of 2024 following Future and Metro Boomin‘s “Like That” and the Drake diss song “Not Like Us,” which has now led to the 6 God exploring legal action against Universal Music Group, the longtime label of both artists.
