GNX has been out for a little more than two months, and it's probably already my most-listened-to Kendrick Lamar album. It's not that I think it's his best — I'm simply always in the mood to listen to it.
Free from the elaborate conceptual framework of most of his past work, it's full of bangers, and that certainly includes the No. 1 hit "Squabble Up." Yesterday (January 30), mashup producer Spectre posted a remix of "Squabble Up" set to the crunchy marching beat from Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" and it's an absolute perfect, the marching band horns, cinematic synth swells and even snippets of acoustic guitars blending perfectly with the structure of Kendrick's hooks.
The pairing of Lamar and Stefani is surprising, but it makes a lot of sense when you consider that the "Hollaback Girl" beat was made by Pharrell Williams, who produced Lamar's hit "Alright." I only wish some of Stefani's vocals had been preserved to really emphasize the synergy between these songs.