Inside The Credits 041: GNX Producers

A Kitchen Brigade of GNX Producers

On December 13th, the Electric Lady Studios IG account posted in a caption “GNX was here x.” The most west coast Kendrick album since GKMC was done in NY, across the country from the root of its sound, in seemingly the most communal way since the TPAB sessions. Fifteen artists, producers, and engineers were tagged in the post, but if we dive into credits we find a total of twenty producers. The core were at Electric Lady, it seems, but an expansion of instrumental voices were needed to make arguably the most airtight album, production-wise, of Kendrick Lamar’s career.

The core of the album lives in the reinventions of SoCal street tones and rhythms. The production does something I’ve barely heard done successfully—- take hyperlocal street rap cadences and elevate them without stripping them of their rigor. When I used to live in New York, the best jerk chicken came from one of two places: a take-out joint where the counter service was dismissive at best or directly from a smoker or grill on the sidewalk in the middle of the night. I had jerk chicken at finer sit-down restaurants a few times and it always paled in comparison. The taste was too clean and lacked depth. GNX provides a sonic flavor I still have never experienced in the paralleled realm of jerk chicken. It sounds like if you took that straight from the grill punch and used seasoned chef technique to turn it into an amalgamation of exalted decadence. One of the most critically lauded restaurants in the country right now is Tatiana in Manhattan with executive chef Kwame Onwuachi at the helm. He has a dish on the menu I’ve been dying to try which is a pimento smoked jerk lamb rib. From what I’ve heard, this could be the GNX of jerk chicken.

Chef Onwuachi has a team around him at Tatiana much like Kendrick’s main producer Sounwave formed at Electric Lady. It's the only way either of them could execute making something truly innovative. While GNX is spined together by LA street tones and Tatiana is at its core an Afro-Caribbean restaurant, they both expand beyond that with songs like “heart pt. 6” and “luther” as well as dishes like shawarma roasted chicken and scallop guisado. As a whole, each project concocted by a wide ranging set of craftsmen makes a rounded artistic statement. In the spirit of celebrating the way GNX accomplishes this, I’ve decided to use my first ITC post of the year to chronicle the credit journeys of the full team by assigning each producer a designation as if they were working in a traditional french kitchen brigade. 

Sounwave (Executive Chef, 12 Credits) 

Sounwave’s credit history dates back to the beginning of Kendrick’s journey. Kendrick mentions the early days on “the heart pt. 6” with the lyrics, “Sounwave let me borrow his clothes for shows as a hype man/Then cook up in this room 'til the night ends.” He produced early classic tracks like “Is It Love,” “Alien Girl (Today With Her),” “ADHD,” and “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe” and only gained a more prominent role as Kendrick ascended. I have already outlined his full producer journey on this Substack and written about his essential role with Kendrick for the entirety of 2024 ranking him as the #2 producer of the year. He’s produced with others outside Kendrick resulting in great acclaim and substance, and as a result formed an even more stacked team for when he came back home on GNX. This album feels like Sounwave opening his first farm to table restaurant in Compton after training around the world and it becoming an instant staple.

Jack Antonoff (Chef de Cuisine, 11 Credits)

After working with Antonoff on multiple Taylor Swift projects and even forming a group called Red Hearse with him and Sam Dew, Sounwave knew exactly who he needed to co-manage his kitchen. The mass reaction to Antonoff’s presence on GNX was one of shock, mostly due to how dope the beats sounded. There’s been a lot of talk about how Swift needs to rid herself of Antonoff and him being overrated. This tweet by journalist Claire Shaffer I think nailed the reality of Antonoff’s impact: “pretty clear to me that he’s simply a funnel for whatever the artist wants to put on the album.” This is in fact exactly what a chef de cuisine does—-take the executive chef’s idea and execute it to the highest level possible. 

There’s also no doubt that Antonoff’s pop proficiency played a key role in the gloss over the album. Antonoff’s first claim to fame was via his band fun. where he was the drummer. The clarity in the sound of the drums all over GNX feels like it could be at least partially credited to Antonoff’s knack for pocket. Antonoff’s next project was his band Bleachers where he pulled a Dave Grohl and moved to frontman. Bleachers seems like Antonoff’s outlet for personal expression so when he produces for others he can solely focus on making their ideas sing. 

The run Antonoff’s been on since 2017 producing full albums for female pop or alt pop singers is remarkable. His work with Lorde, St. Vincent, Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and Sabrina Carpenter somehow still doesn’t get quite enough credit for its range, whether it’s as hit or miss for you as it is for me. While hip-hop producing hasn’t been a thing for Antonoff (minus producing Kevin Abstract’s solo album) his ability to adapt to whatever sounds he needs to clearly resulted in an album full of pristine heat. 

M-Tech (Sous Chef, 6 Credits)

The most prominent mostly unknown name in the GNX credits is Matthew Bernanrd aka M-Tech. He has double the amount of credits of anyone not named Sounwave or Antonoff. This makes him a classic sous chef— the right hand to the executive chef and chef de cuisine who doesn’t oversee the totality of the execution, but plays the most important supporting role.  

Minus producing for his own solo projects, M-Tech’s first significant credits came as a composer for r&b singer Elijah Blake on three tracks in 2019. He got back at it in 2022 for singers Mikhala Jane and Zyah Belle. Then finally, he linked with Sounwave and produced with him for the singer Sekou in 2023. He forayed this into more work alongside Sounwave for Kali Uchis and now Kendrick in 2024.

Now, to be the third most significant producer on the 2024 AOTY with that short of a runway is pretty remarkable. Clearly, he and Sounwave have some real chemistry. But also, based on the songs he’s credited for, it feels safe to say that M-Tech is majorly responsible for the album’s soulful undercurrent. Not only is M-Tech credited on the r&b hit “luther,” but he’s also credited on both “reincarnated” and “man at the garden” which show Kendrick at his most heart centered. Sous chefs are often the unsung real heroes in the kitchen and that is surely the case here.

(Scott) Bridgeway (Commis or Junior Chef, 3 Credits)

Interestingly, as Baby Keem is sort of Kendrick’s Junior chef, one of his main producers is Commis to the main producers on GNX. Other than a few rogue credits for Tana Leone, Sofaygo, Offset, Chlöe, and Omar Apollo, Bridgeway’s main set of work pre GNX exists in the form of 5 essential credits on Keem’s The Melodic Blue. He excelled being a part of some of that album’s best songs like “lost souls,” “range brothers,” and “vent.” So naturally his work on GNX with “squabble up,” “luther,” and “peekaboo” indicates a continuation of his youthful spirit. They are arguably the most playful songs on the project. The junior chef’s main job is to report to and stage under the higher tiered chefs in a kitchen, but they are also expected to bring their fresh flair. Bridgeway clearly excelled at this task.

Tim Maxey (Garde Manger or Pantry Chef, 3 Credits)

The prep or pantry chef has the biggest workload of the chefs who are not directly responsible for the conception of dishes. Tim Maxey doesn’t seem to be the main producer on any of the tracks he is on, but still takes on a significant workload of three credits on “wacced out murals,” “dodger blue,” and “gnx.” It could be said that these three tracks are more foundational to the album rather than being top tier standouts, at least to me. Maxey helped set up the flair with solid groundwork that is just as essential.

Maxey had some credits from 2019 through 2022 for Childish Major, Earthgang, Baby Rose, and Fana Hues before colliding with the Kednrick sphere. His work with those last two distinct female vocalists is substantially vibrant and key to the construction of standout albums from their respective years. It is unclear exactly how Maxey got connected to Sounwave and the Kendrick sphere, but his work on 2022’s MMATBS, for again three credits, was just as essential and structural as his GNX work. It seems his significance there proved he’d be just as effective here. 

Kamasi Washington & Mustard (Pastry Chefs, Both 2 Credits)

This duo of two credit wonders could not receive a designation any less than essential to the overall meal delivered on GNX, thus they are the pastry chefs. I imagine the GNX tasting menu to be composed of three desserts— one individual one for each of the chefs and a collaborative one. The “luther” by Kamasi must have a smooth element like a sorrel infused mousse. The “hey now” by Mustard must have something bold and punchy like a Jamaican black rum cake. Then the “tv off” collaborative dessert needs a bit of both styles fused with an added element of decadence, try a gizzada coconut pie with soursop ice cream topped with a tamarind tuile. Someone please hire me to concoct a GNX tasting menu.

Kamasi Washington first entered the Kendrick Lamar sphere as a part of the dream production team that made TPAB in 2015. He had involvement on the tracks “u” and “Mortal Man,” but didn’t receive any official producer crediting. He is from the jazz universe and was signed to Flying Lotus’s Brainfeeder label which brought him to the TPAB sessions. He hadn’t had another connection with Kendrick since, but worked on countless projects with Terrace Martin who is also credited on GNX.

As we all know, Mustard didn’t work with Kendrick officially credit-wise until “Not Like Us,” the defiant rap single of the year in 2024. His reign with fellow Compton spitter YG is well documented and his reign in hip-hop in the mid 2010s must forever be saluted. The Kendrick work by Mustard in the past year seems to check the final box he needed to solidify his career. The beats indicate a seasoned baker putting it all on the table.

Craig Balmoris, Tyler Reese, & Sean Momberger (Sauciers, All 2 Credits)

While a saucier is technically a line cook, it’s important, especially for a musician parallel, to mark the sauce deliverers with emphasis. These three two credit wonders were clearly more than just one song deliverers and added necessary flavor to the GNX overarching profile.

While his composer credits date back to 2009, Craig Balmoris’ producer credits begin in 2014 and 2015 for Teyana Taylor and Wale. But the most significant credit he has early on is for additional production on SZA’s 2017 track “Garden (Say It Like Dat)” from her TDE debut album Ctrl. This clearly links him to the Kendrick sphere for the first time. Between that credit and his two essential credits on MMATBS credits, Balmoris worked on a few different projects for the label 88rising. Between 2022 and GNX Balmoris most significantly produced for the folk crooner Hozier.

The credits do not explain at all how Tyler Reese ended up on MMATBS. Interestingly enough his first ever legit producer credits appear there on the same songs as Craig Balmoris, yet the two hadn’t worked together prior. Reese’s credits picked back up a bit in 2023 and 2024 pre GNX as he produced for Coco Jones, Hozier, Chenayder, and Sinéad Harnett.

Now, Sean Momberger seems to have added a different type of sauce according to the credits. While they are not from the same lineage, Momberger does seem to be the lesser contributor exuding the same Jack Antonoff-esque effect—the element of pop gloss. Momberger’s first ever credit is for additional keyboards on Iggy Azalea and Charli Xcx’s “Fancy.” From there he executed a career of pop-rap and pop-r&b stylings for the likes of Lil Mosey, Yk Osiris, Bryson Tiller, DDG, Gunna, Justin Bieber, and many more. 2022 is where Momberger leaned a bit more street hip-hop though producing for the likes of Kodak Black, Freddie Gibbs, Lil Baby, and more. This, of course, led him to collaborating with Mustard on the track “See Bout It” by Quavo & Takeoff. While a bunch more pop-rap followed (Nicki Minaj, Jack Harlow, Saweetie, Don Toliver, Doja Cat), Mustard clearly always kept Momberger in mind as he is the only producer besides Mustard and Sounwave credited on “Not Like Us.” His following sous chef work all over Mustard’s compilation Faith of a Mustard Seed as well as saucier expertise on “tv off” and “peekaboo” seems to mark a rising career path. 

Dahi (Butcher, 1 Credit)

Dahi is one of two solo credited cooks that has too much Kendrick work seniority to be grouped in with members of the line. His work on the emphatic “wacced out murals” feels like a perfect excuse to assign him to the meat butcher station. If you’d like to read about Dahi’s credit history with Kendrick and beyond please read my very thorough ITC 040 post :) 

Terrace Martin (Aboyeur or Expediter, 1 Credit)

Martin is also too veteran status to be working alongside other line cooks so I had to place him at the expediting position. He helped push out “dodger blue” with essential LA sonic understanding to the album’s most intended audience. Martin’s work with Kendrick dates back to section.80 and one of my favorite Kendrick songs, “Ab Soul’s Outro.” His credited work with Snoop led him to Kendrick initially then, and he continued to work with him on GKMC and TPAB. “dodger blue” however, is his first credited work with Kendrick since 2015. Martin has had a remarkable career of credited music since the late 2000s most notably working with the likes of Lizzo, Robert Glasper, YG, Big Krit, Ty Dolla $ign, and Rapsody.

franO, Roselilah, Noah Ehler, Tane Runo, Juju The Fool, Kenny & Billy, Rascal, Deats (Line Cooks, 1 Credit Each)

These line cooks all had such important singular contributions to GNX that seven of the twelve songs wouldn’t sound like they do without them. Every single producer here has potential for a career moving forward where they at minimum sous chef something great. Two of them (Tane Runo & Rascal) already have, which means they may deserve their own ITCs in the future… At risk of overcooking this piece though, I am simply going to list the other significant artists each producer has worked with in hopes that you will tap into all their other work. 

franO- Eminem, Trippie Redd, Vince Staples

Roselilah- 21 Savage, Lil Durk, Potter Payper, Baby Keem, Glorilla

Noah Ehler- YGTUT, Roy Woods, Rob49, d4vd, Hailey Knox, Blxst, Mavi, Tanna Leone

Tane Runo- Usher, Elley Duhé, LeCrae, Ne-Yo, Mariah The Scientist, IDK, Earthgang, CyHi, Fana Hues, JID, DRAM, Baby Rose, Childish Major, Arin Ray, Chxrry22, Travis Scott, PHABO

Juju The Fool- Ab-Soul, Jean Deux

Kenny & Billy- Devin Malik

Rascal- Elhae, Logic, Jeezy, IDK, Westside Boogie, Spillage Village, Layla, Goldlink, Mike Dimes, Cyhi, Joony, Ab-Soul, 6lack, Kiana Lede, Sir, Ravyn Lenae, Chase Shakur

Deats- Logic, Drake, Baby Keem, Trippie Redd, Meek Mill, Miraa May, Westside Gunn, Headie One, Blxst

Sidenote: A 200 song playlist (which would be necessary here) is just too much, bump GNX instead :) 

(Every other ITC in 2025 will include a thorough playlist)