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Soundpad atoll integrates portable entertainment system into sou迎来新动态，以下是本次更新整理。 # Soundpad atoll integrates portable entertainment system into soundpad - D 全网热点速览 围绕Soundpadatoll integrates portable entertainment system into soundpad - D，已聚合4条跨平台讨论线索，覆盖官方公告、媒体解读与玩家内容，便于你快速把握版本重点与内容切入方向。  ## 事件速览 atoll integrates portable entertainment system into soundpad - D。当前聚合证据数：4。 ## 关键变化 这一部分重点包括：<a href="https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMirwFBVV95cUxOTU5qM0lnVm4tdkZlQmZrbk1HWXNPUW44U2dlc1Nzc0pOajZfRzZYRWFSWkZYZU5sQU9GbXkyMkZsTlVWZFFnQ3ZFckgwT0RTblpBOTA0aFpHSzRfSi05dEhsRGZSOEowZDVrUFV5QmZicEtudjNrTkxfeEFiTHVHWEEwcWdMbkZBREpabHh6OGl6SGVueFBVX09fQmlYcV9xUk00Zm5LR09Fa3lUUlcw?oc=5" target="_blank">atoll integrates portable entertainment system into soundpad</a> <font color="#6f6f6f">Designboom</font>；<!-- SC_OFF --><div class="md"><p><strong>Artist</strong>: Kendrick Lamar</p> <p><strong>Album</strong>: GNX</p> <p><strong>Release Date</strong>: November 22nd, 2024</p> <p><strong>Listen</strong></p> <p>Youtube</p> <p>Spotify</p> <p><a href="https://music.apple.com/us/album/gnx/1781270319">Apple Music</a></p> <p><strong>Artist Background</strong>:</p> <p>Where do I even begin? Hailing from Compton, California—a city synonymous with both the storied history of Hip-Hop as well as the raw realities of systemic inequality—Kendrick Lamar has risen to the pantheon of Rap royalty despite the well-documented obstacles of his upbringing. After a fateful encounter (helped by a bucket of KFC) with Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, his career began to take off. He signed to Top’s label, TDE, and they essentially became like a second family.</p> <p>He dropped a handful of mixtapes throughout the 2000s, sharpening his pen while discovering his purpose as an artist. He really wore his influences on his sleeve with his earlier sounds, often paying homage to GOATs like Lil Wayne and Eminem (even dropping a full-on reimagining of Tha Carter III with his C4 tape). He eventually dropped the <a href="http://K.Dot">K.Dot</a> moniker and began going by Kendrick Lamar, signaling a shift in focus along his artistic path. In yet another moment of fate, he attracted the attention of fellow Compton legend Dr. Dre with breakout projects Overly Dedicated and Section.80. In 2011, Dre, alongside other West Coast legends like Snoop Dogg and The Game, passed Kendrick the torch on stage, solidifying him as the heir to the West Coast throne. After signing to Aftermath Entertainment, he released his major-label debut studio album good kid, m.A.A.d city, and he’s been the standard of the genre ever since.</p> <p>Those who closely followed Kendrick’s career always knew this moment of undisputed coronation was inevitable—the apex of a career filled with countless seismic, landscape-shifting moments. The question was: had it already happened? GKMC was a cinematic masterpiece, a fully realized narrative of one’s come-up. The "Control" verse sent shockwaves through the game unlike any other moment in the 2010s. To Pimp a Butterfly is regarded by many as the greatest hip-hop album of all time(!). He then reached a new commercial peak and won a damn Pulitzer Prize (cringe pun intended). He performed at the Super Bowl. He dropped another controversial yet critically acclaimed album, emerging on the other side as someone who rejected the lofty expectations and chose himself. He followed that up with the then-highest-grossing hip-hop tour of all time. Each moment felt grander than the last, but he had yet to put a complete end to the debate over who the king of the era was.</p> <p>Seriously, then, how could he follow that act in 2024? Well, with one of the most dominant years an artist could ever have.</p> <p>Kendrick’s greatest gift has always been how he seamlessly blends conscious themes with sonic appeal. He has such an intricate approach to songwriting, weaving vivid storytelling with unflinching examinations of identity, faith, and community. He had long broken through the mainstream barrier while still maintaining authenticity.</p> <p>Somehow, though, as we push into 2025, he’s dominated the zeitgeist like never before. That "Control" verse that shook up the 2010s? His "Like That" feature said “hold my beer” and instantly became the most impactful verse of the 2020s thus far. The rap game stood still once again. For over a decade, he’s been placed in the Big 3 conversation with Drake and J. Cole. Fans have argued one’s superiority over the others like it’s the NBA GOAT debate. Hip-Hop at its core is a competitive space, but rarely do mainstream rappers step into the metaphorical boxing ring to determine who the undisputed champion is. Those types of lyrical clashes are usually reserved for the underground/battle culture. So when two titans of the industry finally put the subliminals aside to duke it out, we were all seated. We had seen Biggie vs. Pac and Nas vs. Hov, but Kendrick vs. Drake felt different. As notable as those beefs were, rap was still considered somewhat niche. If you weren’t outside, then you weren’t really tapped in. And while Hip-Hop has since become the most popular genre in music, this beef was the first time it had the world’s undivided attention. Everything was on the line. For Kendrick, it was his chance to take the commercial iron throne while simultaneously eradicating what he saw as cultural impurity. He meticulously broke Drake down, always being one step ahead.</p> <p>Whether through the predictive flows of “Euphoria,” the God-fearing pleading of “6:16 in LA,” the brutal psychoanalysis of “Meet the Grahams” (over haunting production by The Alchemist), or the triumphant West Coast victory lap that was “Not Like Us,” Kendrick delivered one of the most memorable stretches in the history of rap. Rumors of an album were rampant the entire time, forcing us to replay the Squabble Up snippet from the NLU music video all summer while we waited impatiently. He further teased us in September (as the VMAs were airing) with another warning shot at the industry, "Watch the Party Die". Then, at noon on a Friday in November, he surprise-dropped the latest addition to his illustrious discography with GNX.</p> <p>When he said he was choosing himself, it felt like he was finally definitively rebuking the savior complex. Now, he’s unapologetically embraced it—a role he no longer sees as a burdensome obligation, but as a privilege.</p> <p>GNX is Dot at his most comfortable. He’s done playing by the rules.</p> <p>Album Review by <a href="/u/OhioKing_Z">u/OhioKing_Z</a></p> <p><strong>wacced out murals</strong></p> <p>Man, the hype I had when spinning this for the first time… Every Kendrick album feels like a roller coaster of emotion. I was buckled in, ready to experience the ride. The album starts off with “wacced out murals”, a reference to an incident months prior where a Compton mural of his was defaced. The song begins with vocals from Mexican singer Deyra Barrera, who makes recurring appearances across the album. It immediately immerses the listener into the soundscape.</p> <p>The production is starkly minimalistic, allowing Kendrick to take over and speak his mind. He starts off not so much rapping but talking, almost like spoken word. It feels like a confession. He makes it clear that he’s fine being the odd man out because God has his back either way. He’s become accustomed to a life of fame, where love and hate persist no matter what he does. That duality is just the reality for someone who chooses to be vulnerable and thought-provoking despite always being scrutinized under society’s ever-watchful microscope.</p> <p>“Ridin’ in my GNX with Anita Baker in the tape deck, it’s gon’ be a sweet love” sets the scene perfectly. Then shit gets real: “Used to bump Tha Carter III, I held my Rollie chain proud/Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down.” He finally addressed the elephant in the room.</p> <p>Likely a reference to J. Cole’s Let Nas Down, there’s an undertone that he’s disappointed in Wayne for not being proud of him for such an achievement—becoming the first solo rapper act to perform at the Super Bowl. It’s not hard to see why Wayne felt slighted. He and Hov have had tension in the past, and New Orleans is Wayne’s domain. Still, Kendrick idolizes Wayne. As I mentioned before, he even went as far as dropping a Carter-series-inspired mixtape.</p> <p>The same goes with Snoop and the “Taylor Made” posts. If both his peers and his idols were seemingly discrediting him (sans Nas, which is ironic given the Let Nas Down connection), then is there any loyalty within the industry? That realization is only fueling Kendrick’s desire to be on top. He’s in his unapologetic era. It makes it easier to crush the competition when you’re disgusted with their antics—antics like bribing someone’s hood for dirt. That disgust has allowed him to free himself from the burden of always needing to be politically correct. He’s tired of the fake smiles and lying through one’s teeth.</p> <p>He references his album teaser “watch the party die” once again, showing his commitment to ushering in a new era for the culture. He ends the song by mentioning that haters can whack out his murals, but the concept of a legend in hip-hop would die if his own legend did. It’s an emphatic closing statement after spending most of the track ripping his contemporaries.</p> <p><strong>Squabble Up</strong></p> <p>The song that follows is what we had waited months for: the West Coast party anthem “Squabble Up.” Sticking with the triumphant G-Funk-inspired production, Kendrick brings a nasty energy to this one. It just radiates a hyphy spirit. Hyphy is a subgenre of Hip-Hop that originates in the Compton/Bay area. Similar to Crunk, Hyphy is known for its vivacious, wild sounds. Lil B, YG, Tyga, and B.o.B were some other rappers that helped modernize the sound. Kendrick teases the album's overarching narrative about reincarnation by starting the track off with "God knows. I am.. Reincarnated, I was stargazin'".</p> <p>The theme of the track is obviously about his willingness to fight if need be. He references the beef with the “wolf tickets” and “he got kids with him” lines. The track exudes a tone of well-earned arrogance. He is a Gemini, after all. He’s not being humble by any means. He questions why other rappers even rap, accusing them of being dishonest with the personas they put forth. He also pokes some fun at all the people who constantly beg him for new music.</p> <p>One unfair narrative about Kendrick was that he struggled to make club bangers that could appeal to wider audiences—a challenge he seems to have happily accepted with this album. This track is just one of many victory laps and it definitely lived up to the hype!</p> <p><strong>Luther</strong></p> <p>“Luther” is yet another fantastic addition to a growing list of collaborations between Kendrick and SZA. The former labelmates have flawless chemistry on every track they make together. Sampling “If This World Were Mine” by Luther Vandross and Marvin Gaye, it was Jack Antonoff, Sounwave, and Kamasi Washington who made for an Avengers-level production team. The soundscape is just so luscious. The string sections weave in and out liberally, meshing well with the hi-hats.</p> <p>Kendrick takes a more subtle approach lyrically but still maintains his usual sharpness. He talks about enabling the dreams of his lover and protecting her against her enemies. In one line, he croons "Roman numeral seven, babe, drop it like its hot", which might be referring to a plan to drop an upcoming seventh studio album as well (GNX being his sixth). It could also be a reference to Romans 7, a poignant bible verse about Paul's disconnect between his best intentions to do good and the sinful nature of his flesh. That constant internal struggle led to Paul realizing that it is not him that has sinned, but the man that he used to be before he found faith. This metaphor for personal and spiritual reincarnation, whether intentional by Kendrick or not, perfectly plays into the theme here. The only word that comes to mind for SZA’s voice is “angelic.” She effortlessly elevates every song she hops on. Taking the perspective of the woman Kendrick is in love with, she instantly references Tupac’s poem “The Rose That Grew From Concrete.” She says that she’s only doing what she’s been raised to do, living a regretful, unfulfilling lifestyle on the weekends. Kendrick and SZA’s harmonizing on both the chorus and third verse were such great touches. Small details like that take love ballads to the next level. They begin to plead with each other, saying that they’ll do whatever it takes to make things work. “If this world were mine”… a thought we all ponder from time to time.</p> <p>Beautiful sonically, well-written, and well-performed. One of the best duets of 2024. Just make the collab tape already!</p> <p><strong>Man at the Garden</strong></p> <p>“Man at the Garden” is a clear ode to “One Mic” by Nas. Kendrick even delivers lines with a similar cadence. “I deserve it all,” he repeats. This line encompasses the motivation behind the track. Kendrick is taking the time to be self-reflective but not self-critical, as he often can be. His tone at the start of the song is stoic. Part of his growth and transformation as a person during the Mr. Morale era centered around self-love and forgiveness. He continues these themes in this album, accepting himself for who he is—strengths and flaws in all. He’s finally realized that he’s allowed to reap the fruits of his labor without feeling guilty about it. Rather than question his intentions or imperfections, he gives himself grace.</p> <p>The title of the track also reminds me of an excerpt from a famously stoic speech by Theodore Roosevelt called “The Man in the Arena.” It’s often referenced in sports. LeBron James always writes part of the quote on his game shoes. Roosevelt talks about always doing your best despite obstacles, accepting failure, not being defined by external validation or criticism, and being mindful of how you spend your time pursuing virtuous goals. All of these are things Kendrick addresses and attempts to live by in this song. I’m not sure if it was an intentional parallel, but it’s an interesting connection nonetheless. He spends the first two verses focusing on the self, on “I.” He talks about wanting external validation and not judging others for their shortcomings. Both the instrumental and his voice start to crescendo during the third verse, as if he’s dropping the stoic act due to his bottled-up passion boiling to the surface. He shifts focus to his real priorities: a longing for a sense of community. He wants his family to be happy and healthy, a closer relationship with God, and peace of mind away from selfish individuals.</p> <p>He admits that staying in a negative space absent of those things brings out the fire in him, threatening to crash out and take everything down with him if he isn’t rewarded—because he feels like he’s the greatest of all time.</p> <p><strong>Hey Now</strong></p> <p>The album then transitions from the climactic outro of “Man At The Garden” to the simplistic “Hey Now.” This track was a grower for me. I initially didn’t love the long buildup over the first half, but that quickly went away after a few listens. The first half does a great job of building suspense and anticipation over HARD-hitting drums. The instrumentation then evolves as Kendrick interpolates Fabo’s famous line about seeing spaceships on Bankhead, replacing the location with Rosencrans instead. He says that he sees the aliens holding hands and that they want him to dance. That sequence absolutely feels cosmic, lyrics aside. I feel like I’m Coop from Interstellar, slowly drifting in space when I hear it. This bar could be a metaphor for how Black culture has dominated a place like LA. Yet, as wealthy as he is, he’s still seen as a performer.</p> <p>He continues to reference his resounding victory in the beef, saying that he strangled himself a GOAT. You can also notice the thematic pattern when he again brings up the pressures of fame and the importance of inner peace—things that are central to every Kendrick project, to be fair. Dody6 then comes in with a crazy verse. I had never heard of him until this song, to be honest. “Who the fuck I feel like? I feel like Joker/Harley Quinn, I'm in the cut with a blower.” What?? That’s one of my most quoted lyrics of the entire album, dawg. So fire. An underrated aspect of Kendrick’s pen has always been his witty humor. “If they talkin' 'bout playin' ball, they can take it up with Jordan” cracks me up every time. Kendrick has more than proven that he can mess around and make a silly/catchy banger while also keeping it lyrically dense enough to still allow us to interpret his feelings regarding his life circumstances. He maintains that level of transparency regardless of what sub-genre he’s dabbling in—a tough balance for any artist.</p> <p><strong>Reincarnated</strong></p> <p>“Reincarnated” is the climax of the album, and rightfully so. It’s arguably one of his most well-written songs. Backed by Pac’s “Made N***az” sample, Kendrick paid homage to his biggest muse while also having it serve as a symbolic middle finger to Drake for using an AI Pac on “Taylor Made Freestyle.” He imitates Pac’s brash delivery, figuratively and vocally transforming into the fallen West Coast legend.</p> <p>Kendrick uses the first two verses to highlight both his internal battle with spirituality as well as the cycle of generational trauma that has been passed down in Black culture. He starts the first verse off by saying he has a fire burning in him, that he’s shedding skin, as if he has a newly found hunger inside of him, shedding his old personality and stepping into his new self. This could also be a double entendre. He mentions a third of himself being demented, likely referring to the Holy Spirit. Also, between the “fire burnin’ internally” and the “cynicism towards judgment day” lines, he’s likely talking from the perspective of a fallen angel like Lucifer (also evidenced by later verses). He brings up how he tried Past Life Regression (PLR) last year, which is a hypnotherapy technique that helps one attempt to access former memories of previous lives. This experience was profound for Kendrick and leads to how he developed the idea for the song. There’s been some debate on who he “reincarnated” as specifically, like John Lee Hooker or Billie Holiday, but I’ll just assume that he was telling a story for the sake of the narrative. He highlights the man’s shortcomings by blaming gluttony for his selfish decision-making, something that ultimately led to him succumbing to the lifestyle.</p> <p>The second verse focuses on Black women in the industry during the segregation era. Many fell into the escapism of addiction to deal with the pressures of fame in the face of blatant racism and discrimination. He brings up their relationships with their fathers, which plays into the spiritual element of the song. He’s saying that these people strayed away from God to chase hedonistic temptations and became fallen angels as a result.</p> <p>The third verse is where he gives us the point of view of “himself” in present day. He repeats many of the positive affirmations that we’ve heard throughout the album thus far, like how he’s maintained integrity and respect for the art form. He again brings up his father kicking him out of the house. There are multiple interpretations here. Kendrick’s daddy issues were a notable part of Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. He’s also speaking as a son of God that has struggled with his faith. As mentioned before, Lucifer was kicked out of heaven by God as well; but Kendrick wants to redeem himself in the eyes of the Lord. He begins to not just pray but to plead. He mentions how he’s walked a righteous path by speaking freely for his people, not giving in to fleshly desires despite becoming wealthy, and preventing vultures from preying on his community. God informs him that he hasn’t completely healed from his past trauma, which has tainted how he lends his heart. He’s still prideful, something he’s always viewed as being his likely cause of death (“Pride’s gonna be the death of me”). He goes on to list specific things he’s done to try and promote peace and prosperity, but God calls him out on his hypocrisy, saying that Kendrick still loves to engage in war and conflict. He reminds Kendrick that everybody faces the same internal strife and that Kendrick can’t expect his opposition to forgive him if he can’t find it in his heart to forgive them as well.</p> <p>God mentions Isaiah 14, a passage that refers to a former king of Babylon that fell due to his pride and ego. The fallen star symbolism derives from this, often in reference to Lucifer. The verse transitions into a full-on conversation between God and Satan. God calls Satan his greatest musical director, in reference to Ezekiel 28 (more scripture dedicated to the fall of a prideful king). The scripture also mentions many different gemstone colors, as Kendrick does, which could represent the many different gang colors that Kendrick grew up around. Ezekiel 28:16-17 says that God cast the king down from his mountain because the abundance of the king’s rule filled the king with violence. Unlike with Satan, God wants Kendrick to be rehabilitated. The only thing that can restore his grace is to be humiliated in front of the other earthly kings because Kendrick feels like the fruitfulness of his career has enabled his violent nature. Every past life was a litmus test for moral progress, yet he/they always fell to their vices. I believe this track also serves as a meta-commentary for how the industry has profited off of Black plight for centuries now. We know that hip-hop industry elites have been incentivized to both perpetuate stereotypical norms and promote harmful and rebellious behavior to further oppress Black Americans into the depths of the second class. We also know that Black Americans have used music to speak their truth since the early field hollerer days of rhythm and blues.</p> <p>Whether or not the damaging substance of some mainstream rap derives from the motives of a satanic entity that influences a group of suits is irrelevant to the point he’s ultimately making. He wants Black artists to give up “garnishing evilish views” in order to truly thrive, both in this life and the next. He believes a closer bond with God, alongside the extermination of culture vultures, is the ideal path to get there. He promises to God that he’ll use his gift to help spark positive change. He’s done using fear as a tool to empower his community, instead using his words to capture light and inspiration with the goal of bringing about understanding. He is rewriting the devil’s story by stripping away the past sinful characteristics of Black music, spreading peace and harmony instead.</p> <p><strong>TV Off</strong></p> <p>Here we go. TV Off. Another certified west coast banger from Dot and Mustard. If the beef was a championship game, this is the song that plays over and over at the victory parade. It’s so anthemic. “All I ever wanted was a black grand national / Fuck being rational, give ‘em what they ask for.” He’s not fucking around from the jump. Kendrick hasn’t been this hungry in years. “This ain’t a song, this a revelation” plays well into the sequencing of the tracklist after “Reincarnated.” Not only is it a tonal switch to a more lighthearted soundscape, but it shows us that his pride always re-emerges despite his best efforts. He concluded a biblical arc by rewriting the devil’s story, yet there’s still an apocalypse coming. Now that he’s been down on Earth, he can send his enemies up to heaven.</p> <p>“Turn his TV off” on its surface is obviously a silly way of saying he’ll off his enemies, but I think it’s also likely a direct reference to Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” (something he mentions later in the song), which was a satirical poem about black liberation. The message behind that poem was that meaningful societal change won’t be covered by mainstream media. You’ll have to observe it for yourself, on the ground. He doesn’t think there’s enough awareness of this fact, causing him to question if his initiative to empower other artists is ultimately futile (“it’s not enough”). He again seemingly embraces the savior complex, this time with a more obligatory tone when he says that “someone’s gotta do it.” Compare this to his attitude on “Mirror” when he apologizes for not saving the world because he was too busy with his own personal growth. His perceived need to “kill off” people like Drake has reinvigorated his willingness to do so.</p> <p>Now for the beat switch... The trumpets... The boogeyman ad libs... Oh my God. How many of us have randomly yelled or thought “MUSTARDDDDDDD” since this dropped? He can’t come up with funny one-liners, they said. The third verse is just straight-up flexing. “Tryna show n***as the ropes before they hung from a rope” is a crazy bar that encapsulates his role as a mentor to the younger generation. As he’s mentioned, he wants to break the cycle of sin for his community and warns that if they don’t take his advice, their fate will be the same as many African-Americans of the past. He ends the verse by proclaiming that LA culture is about to come in and dominate the stage at the Super Bowl.</p> <p>The way he delivers the last line, with the emphasis on his “E’s,” really demonstrates the vocal subtleties that make his music so infectious. And speaking of fire delivery, Lefty Gunplay comes in for a brief but menacing outro. “Shit get crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious”... Everything about this song is so good. Seeing it performed live with a marching band will be just glorious.</p> <p><strong>Dodger Blue</strong></p> <p>Kendrick switches up the vibe with “Dodger Blue,” a melodic tune featuring prominent west coast vocalists like Roddy Ricch and Wallie the Sensei. The production is vibrant and spacey. It’s a true ode to LA culture. Kendrick is testing one’s LA street cred by asking what school they went to. He says that you can’t really judge LA for what it is if you don’t go further south, where the true heart of the culture resides (unlike the Hollywood/Beverly Hills north of the Santa Monica Freeway, aka “the 10”). Honestly, the song makes me feel like I’m cruising through LA traffic. Jack Antonoff and Sounwave understood the assignment.</p> <p>The chorus could be a bit longer. I wish Roddy had more of a presence on the track, as his voice effortlessly blends with the instrumentation in particular, but every feature artist does well given the constraints. “Walk, walk, walk, walk” is a crip walk reference. The outro is a message to other rappers and culture vultures, claiming that none of this is personal. Try telling Drake that! This song is laid-back and vibey, yet the writing makes it clear that Kendrick is far from relaxed. It serves as a warning: stay on that side of the street and respect LA, or else...</p> <p><strong>Peekaboo</strong></p> <p>I haven’t stopped listening to Peekaboo since the album dropped. I’ve seen some say that it’s a grower, but I was obsessed with it off first listen. A clear play on Kendrick’s boogeyman persona, it starts off with a distorted sample of Little Beaver’s “Give Me a Helping Hand.” Then the bass comes thumping in out of nowhere. The start of the song is unconventional, chaotic, yet immersive. Even with all the lively bangers he’s given us this year, Kendrick certainly hasn’t entirely neglected his preference for darker, heavier beats. “What they talkin’ ‘bout? They talkin’ ‘bout nothing” is reminiscent of Lacrae’s chorus on “Nuthin.” Likely not a coincidence, given his relationship with Lacrae (he notably referenced Lacrae on “Watch the Party Die”).</p> <p>His vocals are tight and dynamic, the heavily pronounced “P’s” bouncing off the bassline like they’re jumping on a trampoline. AzChike takes the baton and doesn’t miss a beat. The eerie production really brings out his South Central dialect. “Heard what happened to ya mans, not sorry for ya loss” is hard as fuck. Kendrick keeps with the silly flows during his second verse. Bing-Bop-Boom-Boom-Bop-Bam is hilarious. It’s still hard, though, I can’t lie. This guy is letting us know that he’s going to rap however he pleases at this point. Those are also punching sound effects, indicating that he’s always ready to throw hands if need be. He says that people wouldn’t understand the type of skits he’s on. “Skit” is Cali slang for robberies and shootings. Kendrick is saying that he’s above all the social media influencers in LA that chase clout through viral videos. He’s had to go through the hardships of the streets. Now he’s playing with the big dogs and refusing to hold anyone’s hand (a callback to the sample).</p> <p><strong>Heart pt. 6</strong></p> <p>We all wondered if he’d completely ignore Drake’s weak troll attempt and drop his own part 6 of The Heart series. Not only did he do that, but he chose to dedicate it to his love and gratitude for his TDE family. He didn’t reference Drake’s version or the beef in general once. Instead, he reclaimed the series for himself in a way that only he could. Kendrick has always used The Heart series to give us a snapshot into his life and state of mind at the time, offering a raw look into his conflicted psyche. Much had been made about his departure from TDE in order to pursue building his own label in PgLang. There were also rumors that Kendrick and Top weren’t seeing eye to eye. So it’s fitting that he’d sample SWV’s “Use Your Heart” to speak from his heart.</p> <p>Kendrick acts as a director, painting a distinct visual to start the first verse. “Load up the Protools and press three.” I visualize it like it’s an opening shot for a film. Like we’ve been transported to an old studio session, just chilling on the couch watching greatness unfold in front of us. Kendrick is reminiscing on the hunger he felt before making it. It’s easy to forget that he was just another up-and-coming rapper back then. As much potential as he showed, he was still finding his sound and hadn’t yet emerged as the clear MVP of the label. He was still coming off the bench and honing his talent, like Kobe did to start his NBA career. Similarly to how Kendrick talked about wanting to be like Aaron Afflalo, he talks about learning from Ab-Soul’s approach to lyricism. He was still studying the greats and forming his own sense of originality. He was going to label meetings with the sole intention of helping Jay Rock blow up. He knew that their success was tethered, and that any opportunity given to one would be an opportunity for all.</p> <p>He looks back on the days freestyling in the passenger seat of his best friend Dave Free’s Acura. He gives Dave his flowers for working as a jack of all trades, whether it be a producer, manager, or DJ. This genuine display of affection is notable, given that Drake tried to drive a wedge in their friendship with the allegations of infidelity with Whitney. He tells the stories of meeting Schoolboy Q and how Q learned how to rap just from spending time around the TDE family. He mentions how Q believed in him from day one. He shouts out Top for providing them with resources due to that faith in their talent and work ethic.</p> <p>He starts the third verse off with one of the most well-written bars on the entire album when he says that Punch has always acted as a coach and mentor to him, akin to how Phil Jackson was with MJ and Kobe. Kendrick then reveals that he feels like it’s his fault for why the Black Hippy group fell apart. He admits that his growing artistic vision for his career prevented him from fully aligning with the group dynamic. He moved on creatively and didn’t want to force anything due to a sense of obligation to fans or even the other group members. Surely, his solo career arc wasn’t the only factor in why we never got a full-length project from them, but Kendrick still accepts the responsibility as the face of the TDE movement. It’s also another display of humility and growth for a man that has struggled with the concept of pride. Still, he acknowledges that he’s given his fair share to the label and that he’s earned the right to selfishly pursue his goals of being a mogul in black entertainment.</p> <p>He again acts as a mentor to end the song, advising the often hardheaded younger generations to conduct differences with healthy conversation, despite society often encouraging them to let even inconsequential problems go unaddressed. He says that they can’t allow personal conflicts to linger until they can no longer fix them, and simply having a heart-to-heart with the other person can avoid that pain and regret altogether.</p> <p><strong>GNX</strong></p> <p>Next we have the titular track, “GNX.” I’m so glad that this song was included. There was a narrative that Kendrick using his platform to shine a spotlight on other west coast artists was all performative. Sure, he’d give them a song on stage at the Pop Out, but would he actually put them on an album and give them the biggest “Kendrick stimmy” that he could? He did exactly that. I saw that Hitta J3 bought himself a Rolls Royce just off the first week of streaming royalties. If that’s not real exposure, then I’m not sure what is. Kendrick provides the hook and a few ad-libs, but he gives his feature artists the space they need to shine.</p> <p>Do I love any of these rapping performances? Not exactly. The contemporary west coast production is fire, but doesn’t really stand out. It wasn’t made for me, though. Everyone from LA loves it for a reason. I’d imagine it’s perfect for riding around south LA in a Buick with the homies. There are a ton of witty punchlines from YoungThreat, too. “I’m with a rockstar bitch, they want Lizzie McGuire” and “get on my Bob the Builder shit, get down with the pliers.” They’re not taking themselves too seriously. 2024 was the year of the West Coast, a year of celebration. This track falls in line with that and was a necessary inclusion to the tracklist for that reason.</p> <p><strong>Gloria</strong></p> <p>I always get especially excited for the outro of a new Kendrick album. Duckworth, Mortal Man, and Mirror are three of my favorite tracks by him, so my expectations were high. Boy, he didn’t disappoint. Kendrick’s ability to craft a multi-layered track that can have multiple interpretations never fails to blow my mind. The track’s title, “Gloria” (Spanish for “glory”), symbolizes the divine purpose Kendrick sees in his art. The track begins with Deyra Barrera making another appearance. “Sentado, Anita y tú” translates to “Seated, Anita and you,” a callback to the Anita Baker reference on the intro track, “wacced out murals.” A sweet, melancholic guitar riff sets the vibe. There’s definitely a “lovey-dovey” aspect to the instrumentation.</p> <p>Kendrick starts his verse by saying that he and his bitch have a complicated relationship. He talks about meeting her as a teenager, saying that his other friends claimed they wanted her but didn’t have the discipline needed to earn her hand. At this point, the listener is supposed to assume that he’s talking about Whitney. He brings up a pivotal moment of growth within the relationship, citing how she was there for him during his granny’s death and that they’ve been committed to each other ever since. That experience taught him how to use rap as his primary outlet, transforming his pain into creative energy. Now, he’s got the formula down.</p> <p>He again enlists the help of R&B Queen, SZA, as she sings from the perspective of his pen. She, as his pen, offers a soulful reflection of a bond’s permanence, reiterating her undying loyalty to him. Not only is this a song about his relationship with his pen, but it’s also a conceit about how he expresses himself through his art and his career arc overall. Kendrick has always taken a meticulous approach to his creative writing process, so it’s no surprise that he delivers a song with this much lyrical depth that’s quite literally a love letter toward his ability to do so.</p> <p>He starts the second verse by saying that she threatened to leave him for more committed individuals. He couldn’t be strapped up outside of the gas station if he wanted to be serious with her. There had been times when she felt he would fabricate his stories so she would block him (he’s mentioned facing writer’s block during the pandemic). He mentions how she even accompanied him on his famous spiritual awakening trip to Africa in 2014 (a key source of inspiration for TPAB).</p> <p>They’ve clearly gone through their ups and downs, but he acknowledges that having her as both his most loyal companion and harshest critic has truly been to his benefit because it’s forced him to reflect and mature. His pen (still SZA) pushes back, bemoaning him for not recognizing how much she’s given him: power, charisma, blessings, his hustle. She provided it all. He then gives in, falling back in love with her the moment that they touch again. He admits he’s sensitive and possessive over her. He knows that she hates when he hits the club to get some bitches (dumbing it down for commercial success) and would rather he speak more introspectively about his spirituality and religious beliefs.</p> <p>“‘Member when you caught that body and still wiggled through that sentence?” Such a clever pun about avoiding any negative consequences after emerging victorious from the beef. He points out that she has the power to both heal and kill (something he also states on his underrated feature on Isaiah Rashad’s “Wat’s Wrong”). He then ends the track by finally revealing that he’s talking about his pen, using some writing-related wordplay about her being his right hand and how no one can erase their history.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion</strong>:</p> <p>Coming off the heels of winning the biggest clash in Hip-Hop that we’d ever seen, we all wondered what Kendrick would do next. He had finally reached that next level of commercial success, cultivating an even larger fanbase than ever before. He had babies, politicians, and grannies dancing along and chanting the lyrics to “Not Like Us.” Critics had long argued that Kendrick struggled with making digestible music, but GNX is his most accessible work yet. The tracklist has everything you could want from him: braggadocious, triumphant anthems, moments of introspection, and moments of intimacy. It sees Kendrick soberly confronting his demons while simultaneously claiming victory over them in way that he previously hadn't. By the end of Mr. Morale, he had accepted his flaws as a man, believing that his inner conflict and existential dread could be contained. He reaches a heightened sense of clarity with this project.</p> <p>Kendrick has consistently woven spirituality, identity, and societal critique into his music, and GNX is no different. His natural ability to juxtapose vulnerability with assertive confidence resonates throughout this album. The references to scripture, Lucifer’s fall, and unresolved generational trauma all make for a grand tale of redemption and self-reckoning allegory. I really enjoyed finding thematic ties between tracks, like “Man at the Garden” channeling Roosevelt’s stoic ideals or “Luther” repurposing a classic soul record. I’ve always appreciated how much Kendrick studied the game, a student of Hip-Hop. He knows who paved the way for artists like himself and always prioritizes deepening the connection between the past and present. Soul, Jazz, Blues, Funk, etc. You name it. There are even Mariachi influences, proverbially saluting the impact of hispanic culture on LA. I’m not sure there’s a rapper with a more eclectic, avant-garde approach to song-making other than perhaps Kanye. He continuously challenges not only himself but also the audience to think critically about their roles within both culture and society. For him to pull that off on such a massive scale during the beef is the type of unprecedented achievement that only further solidifies that he’s the greatest rapper of all time, in my opinion.</p> <p>Kendrick had largely rejected the savior complex due to his frustrations with the culture’s resistance to any substantial change, but that was when he felt like he still had to play within the confines of the rules. He was hesitant to try and assert his dominance if it was rigged against him. He’s determined to blaze his own trail now, embracing a leadership role within the culture once again. Onto the Super Bowl!</p> <p><strong>Favorite Lyrics</strong>:</p> <ul> <li>‘”’Member when you caught that body and still wiggled through that sentence?”</li> <li>“Punch played Phil Jackson in my early practices, strategies on how to be great amongst the averages/ I picked his brain on what was ordained, highly collaborative”</li> <li>“Tell me why you think you deserve the greatest of all time, motherfucker”</li> </ul> <p><strong>Discussion Questions</strong>:</p> <ul> <li>Do you think Kendrick’s message here—especially about rejecting negative industry norms and pursuing collective upliftment—will resonate widely, or will it be lost on a mainstream audience more focused on the beef or bangers?</li> <li>Where does GNX rank in Kendrick’s discography?</li> <li>What do you hope for with Kendrick's next project? Deluxe or another project entirely? What sonic direction would you like to see him take next?</li> </ul> </div><!-- SC_ON -->   submitted by   <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/OhioKing_Z"> /u/OhioKing_Z </a>   to   <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/"> r/hiphopheads </a> <br /> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/1ibm1au/album_of_the_year_kendrick_lamar_gnx/">[link]</a></span>   <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/1ibm1au/album_of_the_year_kendrick_lamar_gnx/">[comments]</a></span>；<!-- SC_OFF --><div class="md"><p>Last year I wrote a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/1i46ycb/ive_spent_2024_reading_modern_and_classical_scifi/">post</a> about my sci-fi journey in 2024 and what I thought about each book I read. I enjoyed the whole process (both the reading and reviewing) so I thought I’d do it again this year, with modern fantasy.</p> <p>While I’m not a complete newcomer to fantasy, I mostly only read the big series (LotR, ASoIaF, WoT, Witcher, HP etc.), and not much of modern fantasy, so I wanted to explore how the genre is progressing in the new millennium. I considered any series that started after 2000 to be modern fantasy, which might not be the best categorization, but that’s where I drew the line.</p> <p>I wasn’t able to read as much as last year, but still managed to read 22 books from 12 series. There are a couple of big misses, and believe me, there were like 10 other series on my list that I just couldn’t make time for – but hey, at least, I’ll not run out of reading material any time soon.</p> <p>I’ll try to avoid spoilers; however, I consider a book’s main premise and plot points that could be on the back cover fair game - so if you want to go into these books completely blind, don’t read further. </p> <p>So here are my reviews (in reading order): </p> <ul> <li><p><strong>Fourth Wing (Rebecca Yarros)</strong><br /> This book is a mess. But a fun one! I accidentally started my fantasy year with Fourth Wing (didn’t yet know that I’ll do a modern fantasy year) after my wife got it for Christmas last year, and it looked like a solid fantasy from the cover. As I wanted something different after all the sci-fi of the year before, I went in completely blind. I didn’t even know about the romantasy genre before, and I thought this would be something like an Eragon-esque easy fantasy. Imagine my surprise when the book turned out to be 50% lusting after male bodies with the other 50% being some random fantasy setting with so many plot holes that you wonder if there’s actually a plot between the 14-page long sex scenes. So how is it fun? Well, it’s just easy to read, and you can quickly get on board after you realize during the first few chapters that there isn’t that much to pay attention to, and you can just cruise along the story. The book also doesn’t pretend to be more serious than it is, so you can just lean back and read what technically can be called a story, but mostly you’ll read how amazing Xanden’s body is. By the way, I’m not being sarcastic, I did have fun reading it – it’s actually interesting what no expectations does to the enjoyment of a story. But during it I was also really hoping that this isn’t what modern fantasy has grown into. <strong>6/10</strong> </p></li> <li><p><strong>The Kingkiller Chronicle (Patrick Rothfuss)</strong><br /> Luckily, I picked up the Kingkiller Chronicle right after Fourth Wing, and it proved right away that modern fantasy can be good, or great even. Despite the series not being perfect (not the least because it’s not finished), it’s just written so well that it’s easy to overlook its flaws. The prose is great, the narrative is fascinating and the challenges our protagonist faces are dynamic and well-paced. I was thoroughly entertained while reading it. However, the further I’m from the actual reading experience, the more the flaws become apparent. For example, the protagonist is the biggest Gary Stu I’ve ever read (I know he’s an unreliable narrator, but you can’t be world-class at magic, music, sex and eastern martial arts at the same time), he is super white-knighty and the story, while posing many fascinating mysteries, doesn’t seem to have actual answers to them. But as I said, I didn’t sense much of this while reading the book, so I might be a little bit too critical due to the time passed. It’s still a great read, just don’t think about it too hard afterwards :) <strong>8/10</strong> </p> <ul> <li><strong>The Name of the Wind</strong> encompasses everything that works great about the series – the story is well-paced, the proposed mysteries are intriguing, the framing story is done really well and the narrative still feels on track. Yes, the above-mentioned issues are already there, but the good parts overwhelm them, making this book a very enjoyable read. <strong>8.5/10</strong><br /></li> <li><strong>The Wise Man's Fear</strong> is where the story kind of starts moving in circles. When I was almost done with the first half of the book, and we were still at the magic school, I knew there was no way the plot could advance at a pace that it needed to get at least some progress on the mysteries and the main plot. And this became even more apparent as the second half of the book starts to feel like a series of independent adventures with the same protagonist – each interesting in their own way, but not really being parts of a cohesive narrative. Still, it’s an enjoyable book, and I really hope that eventually we’ll get the third one and get some closure on the story. <strong>7.5/10</strong> </li> <li><strong>The Slow Regard of Silent Things</strong> is a novella based around one of the side characters in the series and is written very differently than the main books. It’s a classical case of an author experimenting with different styles – Rothfuss admits as much in the foreword – and I get what he’s going for, I just didn’t enjoy it that much. It was an interesting reading experience, but I felt like there wasn’t much substance besides the unique mindset (or mental illness) of the protagonist. <strong>6.5/10</strong> </li> </ul></li> <li><p><strong>The First Law Trilogy (Joe Abercrombie)</strong><br /> The First Law Trilogy is actually really just one big book, separated into three smaller, but still big ones, and with the author leaning heavily into the three-act structure, the three books cleanly become the three acts. Now this has its pros and cons. The con is mainly suffered by the first book, where it takes sooo much time to get things going and pull our characters together, but after you get through it, the second book quickly starts to repay your investment as you get more into the story and the characters, and the third book becomes one of the most epic conclusions I’ve read this year. Also, speaking of characters, this is where Abercrombie shines the most. The story (for me) was nothing special, but the characters are extremely complex and well written. It’s rare when the same characters can act completely differently between two situations and still be believable, but Abercrombie nails these changes and he shows how societal setting and group pressure influence even what seem to be core personality traits – I’ve never felt more validated for having different personalities for different friend groups! Also Glokta is probably in the top 5 fantasy characters of all time. So to sum it up, it’s a great read, after you get through book (or act) 1. <strong>8.5/10</strong> </p> <ul> <li>As mentioned, <strong>The Blade Itself</strong> isn’t a great standalone book. I found myself asking multiple times ‘Why am I reading about these people?’ throughout the book, as our main characters seemingly don’t have any connection to each other or any impact on the world. And sure, by the end of the book it all comes together, and you realize that this 500-page book was just a prelude to the actual story. And looking back, everything kind of falls into place, but it’s a bit of a struggle as a first-time reader. However, it does a lot of groundwork for the characters and the world for the next books, so I can’t be too mad at it. <strong>7/10</strong><br /></li> <li>In <strong>Before They Are Hanged</strong> the story finally takes off for real. Our characters begin to interact with each other and their dynamic is great. Some plots are still separated and there’s a weird choice to have half of the POV characters in the same group throughout the book, and in the least interesting storyline which thus takes up a lot of space that could’ve been spent elsewhere. But regardless, the characters really start to shine through the pages, and so I started to understand why this series is so recommended. <strong>8/10</strong> </li> <li><strong>Last Argument of Kings</strong> concludes the series in an epic fashion – and it’s easy to do so as the first two books really built up everything that was needed for it. I found the ending for each character perfect – not the ending I would’ve liked for the character, but the ending they needed to have based on everything that came before. In the end there’s one storyline I didn’t like – the magic one with Bayaz – as I felt it took away from the groundedness of the others. But everything else was great, and this book can be held up as a prime example of how to finish a series. <strong>9/10</strong> </li> </ul></li> <li><p><strong>Best Served Cold (Joe Abercrombie)</strong><br /> While not a direct sequel to the First Law trilogy, Best Served Cold clearly continues down the grimdark road of the first books. Brandon Sanderson defined grimdark as a story where “each and every good deed is punished”, and this has never been more true than in Best Served Cold. Anytime a character does something even mildly nice, they are severely punished for it after – and to be honest this becomes a little predictable as the story goes on. However, the more focused plot allows a smoother and more streamlined reading experience, where the narrative is clear, the stakes are clear and our characters can shine from the beginning. There’s a noticeable shift towards a more stylized dialogue (and there is a lot of dialogue), with the style of gangster movies (from the likes of Guy Ritchie and Tarantino) serving as a clear inspiration. For me, this stylized prose has become a little bit much by the end (after all we’re talking about a 680-page book, not a 2-hour movie), but it might be that I’ve read too much Abercrombie in one go. So after this, I’ve kept the First Law books on hold for the rest of the year, but I’ll probably return to them in a year or two. <strong>7.5/10</strong> </p></li> <li><p><strong>The Powder Mage (Brian McClellan)</strong><br /> I’m a little ambivalent (though leaning positive) about these books. First, this series has the most original magic system I’ve read all year and it’s integrated perfectly into the American/French revolution aesthetic, and these really provide the series with a strong backbone. But (and here comes the big <em>but</em>) I can’t for the life of me understand why the author felt the need to introduce a different, super generic classical fantasy magic system into the story, and also why, oh why do we need to have gods in this universe. There are so many stories about fireball-throwing, lightning-shooting, ice-summoning magi that aim to prevent/bring forward the summoning of a god (isn’t this the plot of every second World of Warcraft raid?) that it’s just super played out for me. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like these additions really take away from the strongest aspects (setting and the powder magic) of the books. The other elements of the book are well written, the story is sound, most of the characters are interesting (especially Tamas), however they’re just that – well written, not extraordinary. <strong>7.5/10</strong> </p> <ul> <li><strong>Promise of Blood</strong> starts the series strongly with an ongoing coup, which gives it a nice dynamic to the first part of the book. This, and all similar political intrigue plots are the best part of the story. However, we soon leave this behind as we have our – otherwise likable – investigator character going after some prophecy bullsh*t. I think I made it clear above how I feel about this, but nevertheless, it’s a fine first entry of the series, even if I had problems with parts of the plot. <strong>7/10</strong></li> <li><strong>The Crimson Campaign</strong> is the best entry in the series – coincidentally the one with the least generic fantasy plots – I especially enjoyed the death march behind enemy lines, where it constantly felt like the characters were on their last legs, but still, their solutions (mostly) didn’t feel forced or convenient. At one point, however, I had to realize I didn’t really care for Taniel (who is one of the main characters), which sucks as he had some interesting plotlines, but his personality is just not very likable. <strong>8/10</strong> </li> <li>Aaaaand we’re back with the god stuff in <strong>The Autumn Republic</strong>. I know, even I’m bored of my complaints by now, but what can I do? It just bugs me about these books. We get another god, and his deal is… election campaigns and trade unions. I mean, at this point, what’s the point of him being a god? I really like all the political plots and maneuvering, but the sharp contrast between the groundedness of the story and the fantasy elements really bothered me right to the end. But besides this, the ending is a competent and satisfying way to conclude the series, which after all, I’m glad I’ve read. <strong>7.5/10</strong> </li> </ul></li> <li><p><strong>A Darker Shade of Magic (V. E. Schwab)</strong><br /> This book has so much wasted potential. I was hooked on the world as soon as I read the synopsis – four parallel Londons, that are similar, but are shaped by different events into becoming separate worlds – how cool is that? I couldn’t wait for the author to highlight the comparisons between each world and show how they are alike, but not alike at the same time. However, it turns out my expectations were way too high. Instead of exciting alternative Londons we got Boring (Real) London, Generic Good London, Generic Evil London and Generic Extra Evil London. The only parallels between them are that there’s one(!) building in the exact same place in each and there’s a Thames in all of them. So not very exciting. But how about the characters, the story? Those were to me kind of average – there wasn’t anything wrong with them per se, but I just couldn’t really get involved. One problem I had is that there’s a lot of ‘tell, don’t show’, for example, we are told again and again how our protagonist loves his brother, and this even becomes a key plot point down the line. However, the only interaction we see between them before things go down is when they argue with each other – we don’t see them having fun or hanging out or anything, and this really hampers the impact of the later parts of the book. There are other examples of this, so in the end this book didn’t really grab me, so I didn’t read further into the series. <strong>6/10</strong> </p></li> <li><p><strong>Green Bone Saga (Fonda Lee)</strong><br /> The Green Bone Saga is the best series I’ve read this year. Its setting (a fantasy world that’s parallel to our 1970s East Asia) and themes are completely unique in this genre and Fonda Lee handles these magnificently. She tackles topics like how globalization affects traditional societies, how immigrant groups try to hold on to their native culture, while trying to adhere to the norms of the country they’re in, how honor-based rules and traditions collide with what’s essentially becoming a modernized world and other difficult topics that are usually absent in fantasy literature. All of these are presented as real challenges for the characters, without falling into the evil globalization vs. morally pure native dichotomy – in which it helps that our protagonists are organized criminals. This is also handled wonderfully as the characters are nuanced, flawed, but still very human and understandable, or even likable. I didn’t give a perfect score to any of the books as the first one lacks the ambitious themes of the whole series, while the latter two’s story is less focused due to the growing scope. However, in total it really is greater than the sum of its parts, so as a series it gets a perfect <strong>10/10</strong> from me.</p> <ul> <li><strong>Jade City</strong> is the most focused and dynamic story out of the three books (the story happens in just 6 months, instead of the years the following books tackle), and it pulls the reader right in. The living, breathing city of Janloon provides a wonderful backdrop to the great characters whose unique struggles and challenges are super captivating. The author doesn’t hold any punches, the stakes are real and high. The book lacks the thematical depth of the rest of the series, but it’s a near-perfect story on its own as well. <strong>9/10</strong><br /></li> <li><strong>Jade War</strong> starts to broaden the story with more perspectives. We meet immigrant communities, our characters start to feel the grasps of globalization and how super-powers influence and vie over resource-rich, but smaller countries. And these are just the background themes behind a good-old clan war. However, to show all this, the story becomes less focused and a little bit too broad, but it’s all worth it in the end. <strong>8.5/10</strong> </li> <li>With <strong>Jade Legacy</strong> we’re moving into modernity, and with it, the changing of traditional values, generational differences and the societal volatility that is caused by all these drive the story forward. The story is even less focused – it takes place over 20 years -, so there are places where I was not yet ready for the time-jumps and wanted to read more about certain situations, but I accept that to tackle these themes, these were unavoidable. The conclusion is handled extremely well, it’s perfectly bittersweet and rounds out a great reading experience in total. <strong>8.5/10</strong> </li> </ul></li> <li><p><strong>The Lies of Locke Lamora (Scott Lynch)</strong><br /> The Lies of Locke Lamora is a fine book with likable characters and a well-written story. However, the flow of the book really threw me off. We’d start a heist in the present, then flashback to a storyline from 10 years ago then have a flashback <em>inside</em> the flashback. Then back to the present story. Then flashback again. And this goes on throughout the book. Maybe it would’ve been fine, if the glimpses to the past were interesting at least, but I found most of them quite boring, especially as I couldn’t wait to get on with the main story. But no, we had to see what irrelevant things happened to our characters 10 years ago (so a secondary character pretended to be a priest for a while, thanks, now can we go back to the literal climax of the book?). But at least the main story was interesting, and the characters were great as well. I especially liked that the author didn’t hold any punches, and there were real stakes and consequences. But in the end, I couldn’t really get over the flow and structure of the story, and while I liked the book at a lot of places, I don’t think I’ll continue with the series. <strong>7/10</strong> </p></li> <li><p><strong>Bloodsworn Saga (John Gwynne)</strong><br /> Surprisingly, I haven’t yet encountered many fantasy books that are based on Nordic culture. It’s surprising as it lends itself super well to the genre as it’s showcased by the Bloodsworn Saga. It’s just familiar enough so that concepts don’t have to be over-explained and unusual enough so it’s not just another fantasy world that’s basically medieval Europe. So the setting is great, the worldbuilding is solid, but the story has some issues. Nothing to ruin the experience, and I enjoyed the books and the story, but it won’t be a 10/10. And although I didn’t have time to read the third book this year (it was already November when I finished the second book and I wanted to dig into a few more series), I’m definitely picking it up next year, as I’m quite interested in how the story ends. <strong>7.5/10</strong> </p> <ul> <li>I imagine <strong>The Shadow of the Gods</strong> was written like this: the author wrote a very solid story, then said ‘Hey, this is a pretty good, let’s duplicate everything, it’ll be twice as good!’. And behold: there are 2 very similar mercenary groups, 2 moms looking for their kidnapped kids, 2 <span class="md-spoiler-text">protagonists with wolf powers</span>, 2 <span class="md-spoiler-text">groups going north to explore sites of fallen gods</span>, and I could go on. The two very similar mercenary groups are my biggest gripe, as several times I had to stop and think about which character is part of which one. But besides this, as I said, it’s a pretty good story, action-packed and dynamic. The characters are solid, not necessarily complicated, but there are a couple of twists about them that make them interesting. <strong>7.5/10</strong><br /></li> <li><strong>The Hunger of the Gods</strong> picks up where the previous book finished, the dynamism and action continues, but this time it got a little too much for me. Basically what happens is that the 3 original characters go from place to place and kill everything in-between. Lots of broken skulls, slit up bellies, and cut-off appendages. It gets a little tiresome after a while and by the end I found myself skimming over the battle scenes, as after a point they all seemed the same. The actionmovie-esque writing also introduces some weird things, like super short chapters (there’s a chapter that’s just 2 pages long), that I imagine should evoke the effect of a camera cutting back-and-forth between two characters, but it just didn’t work for me that much. What did work for me are the parts that are NOT filled with gore and violence and chopped off fingers: there are a couple of new characters whose story is not as action-packed and they slow the narrative down nicely and we’re shown some nice character development, intrigue and much-needed breathing space between the other chapters. <strong>7/10</strong> </li> </ul></li> <li><p><strong>The Poppy War (R. F. Kuang)</strong><br /> This is a weird one. While The Poppy War does a lot of things well – showing how seemingly “meritocratic” systems can entrench the power of the ruling class, providing a perspective into women’s challenges in highly competitive environments etc. –, but there are just so many things wrong with the book that I just couldn’t enjoy it in the end. First, the prose is clunky in a lot of places, e.g. it sometimes goes from third-person limited to third-person omniscient point-of-view within the same chapter. Then the worldbuilding is really unimaginative: it’s just China, that’s it, with some magic (plus Japan and the Western countries). For example, quotes in the book in-story are from real Chinese philosophers with their actual name included, which is quite jarring. If the author wanted to do an alternative mystical version of China, why create a seemingly new fantasy world, that just comes off as lazy worldbuilding? Lastly, the tone of the book is extremely inconsistent. One chapter I’m worrying about the story turning into a YA-style love triangle, and the (literally) next chapter describes some of the most extreme, horrendous atrocities I’ve ever read in ANY book. This last part is so insanely out-of-place, unexpected and unwanted that I considered not finishing the book. I powered through, but I most certainly won’t read the rest of the series and I might just keep away from all future books of the author. <strong>5.5/10</strong> </p></li> <li><p><strong>Piranesi (Susanna Clarke)</strong><br /> This was a great read! Piranesi is a unique take on the “infinite house” trope, where the mystery is captivating, and the plot is excellently written. Many mysteries fail to involve the reader in the solution, making it impossible to come to the right conclusion on our own (I’m looking at you <em>literally every detective book ever</em>), but not Piranesi. Here, when a new clue was introduced, I was able to figure it out maybe a page or two before the protagonist came to his conclusions. I also didn’t have to “wait” for him over chapters to figure out something obvious. This shows how well-written and well-paced the story is. My only criticism would be that the ending was a little too neat (but this is a matter of taste) and that I would have liked an additional ~100 pages of non-plot-heavy exploration of the House that could’ve let the story breathe a little more, especially in the later chapters. <strong>9/10</strong> </p></li> <li><p><strong>The Fifth Season (N. K. Jemisin)</strong><br /> I enjoyed The Fifth Season thoroughly. It’s interesting in more ways than one, the plot is solid, the characters are great and the world is fascinating. I also liked how it went against some usual trends and e.g. used a second-person narrative in a few chapters – it’s clear that the author didn’t just follow formulas, but went in her own direction. The worldbuilding is also not just the usual “medieval equivalent of our world with magic” that a lot of fantasy books fall into, it’s a well thought-out, convincing world, where people aren’t based on a particular “real” civilization, but rather their culture corresponds to the challenges and problems that are in their own lives and world. Sadly, I didn’t have time to read the rest of the series in 2025, but I’ll certainly start 2026 with the next book. <strong>9/10</strong> </p></li> <li><p><strong>The Curse of Chalion (Lois McMaster Bujold)</strong><br /> The final book of my modern fantasy year turned out to be not a modern fantasy, but a very much classical one. Even though it was released after my arbitrary deadline of 2000, the contrast between this book and the others I’ve read are stark: the morally grey protagonists are nowhere to be seen, here the good characters are good, the bad ones are bad; the good princess is beautiful and she marries the brave prince; the gods are kind and try to help the mortals against the evil of the world. If I’m being completely honest, it was a bit of fresh air after all the complicated themes, ambiguous motivations and uncomfortable stories. So this review and score might be a little inflated by this, but I really enjoyed The Curse of Chalion. The story flowed smoothly, the challenges were substantial, but not unconquerable, the good characters were likable, the bad ones were appropriately dislikable and the whole narrative was built up and then closed in a satisfying way. Of course, I didn’t gain any new perspective, neither was I surprised by anything that happened, but this is definitely a solid book to read, and I’m glad I finished my year with this one. <strong>8/10</strong></p></li> </ul> </div><!-- SC_ON -->   submitted by   <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/trollokvoltak"> /u/trollokvoltak </a>   to   <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/books/"> r/books </a> <br /> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/1qfcnqk/ive_spent_2025_reading_modern_fantasy_here_are/">[link]</a></span>   <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/1qfcnqk/ive_spent_2025_reading_modern_fantasy_here_are/">[comments]</a></span>。 ## 时间线 这一部分重点包括：2013-11-27｜Google News：atoll integrates portable entertainment system into soundpad - Designboom；2024-11-23｜Reddit：About Mr. Beast；2025-01-27｜Reddit：Album of the Year: Kendrick Lamar - GNX；2026-01-17｜Reddit：I've spent 2025 reading modern fantasy - here are some reviews。 ## 来源归类与证据说明 ### 媒体信源（1 条） - 2013-11-27｜<a href="https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMirwFBVV95cUxOTU5qM0lnVm4tdkZlQmZrbk1HWXNPUW44U2dlc1Nzc0pOajZfRzZYRWFSWk ### 社区信源（3 条） 这一部分重点包括：2025-01-27｜<!-- SC_OFF --><div class="md"><p><strong>Artist</strong>: Kendrick Lamar</p> <p><strong>Album</strong>: GNX</p> <p><str；2026-01-17｜<!-- SC_OFF --><div class="md"><p>Last year I wrote a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/1i46ycb/ive_spent；2024-11-23｜<!-- SC_OFF --><div class="md"><p>For those of you who are new here - welcome. I started this community about forever ag。 ## 更新日志 - 2026-03-07T12:35:32+00:00：由 bbgrank-python-2026 自动生成并待发布。 - [查看Soundpad全部事件](/games/soundpad)