These Latine Artists Are Featured on Kendrick Lamar’s New Album ‘GNX’
Watts, CA - June 22: Kendrick Lamar smiles alongside Jay Rock, center, in between filming for the the music video for "Not Like Us" at Nickerson Gardens on Saturday, June 22, 2024 in Watts, CA. (Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Surprise! Kendrick Lamar dropped an album today (Nov. 22) titled GNX, and as the Internet dissects the 12-track project, it’s hard not to be captivated by the euphonious vocals that introduce the album on “wacced out murals,” which are by mariachi singer Deyra Barrera, along with other Latine talent on the LP.
Listeners can also hear Barrera throughout the album on “reincarnated” and closing out the album on “gloria.” Born in Villa Juárez, Sonora, Mexico, and currently residing in Los Angeles, CA, the singer has been serenading our communities for over two decades with projects like Sufriendo a Solas and Mi Juventud a los 40. She formed part of the collective Viejas De Cuidado in 2019 and released a self-titled album alongside Regional Mexican artists Carmen Ríos and Verónica Rosales — a project trio of mujeres who are unapologetically themselves navigating a genre dominated by men. She was also a contestant in TV shows like La Academia, Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento, La Voz Mexico, and La Reina de la Canción. Most recently, at the 2024 World Series, she paid homage to fellow Sonorense, the legendary Fernando Valenzuela, who passed away on Oct. 22.
On track 11, titled “gnx,” the first verse you hear is from Mexican rapper Peysoh. “This was for the west🇲🇽🥂,” the Maywood, California native wrote in an Instagram post about the collaboration. Peysoh started writing music when he was as young as 13-years-old, inspired by his late friend and Mexican-American rapper MoneySign Suede to pursue music further. In 2022, he dropped his first project Ghetto Journal and Get Rich or Life Sliding in 2023. The now 20-year-old artist has openly talked about his rough upbringing, losing his father early on, and life during and after being incarcerated.
Moreover, on the DJ Mustard produced track “tv off,” Guatemalan-Mexican-American emerging rapper Lefty Gunplay is heard in the outro. The Baldwin Park native is no stranger to the Los Angeles rap scene — his raps have been known to reflect on growing up in the San Gabriel Valley, the struggles he’s endured overtime while being incarcerated, and not being afraid to be vulnerable with his trials and tribulations. In an interview with Passionweiss, he was asked what it meant for him as a Latino artist to represent the culture to “a mass audience,” and he responded: “It’s a lot of pressure, but I’m not going to disappoint them. I’m gonna keep going up and show people of my skin color, and kids like me, that you could do it. If I could do it, they could do it too.”
When asked about how the collaboration with Lamar came about by Power106, he didn’t believe it was real until it actually happened. “Kendrick wants you in the studio,” he was told. When they went into the studio together, he mentioned that Lamar had given him his flowers and said he’d been a fan of his since April. He described the vibe of the studio session as very comfortable and said that Lamar mentioned it wouldn’t be the last time they work together. “I’m blessed and humbled to be able to represent for us,” he told Letty Peniche when she brought up how special it is for Lefty to be a part of the track.
For someone as big as Kendrick Lamar, who will be headlining the 2025 Super Bowl, to spotlight these Latine artists on his highly anticipated album is a testament to how not only global música mexicana is, but also how pivotal Latine folks are to Los Angeles culture and the hip-hop community.