Kendrick Lamar surprised everyone by releasing a new album GNX on Friday (November 22), and even though it only dropped in temperature a minute ago, listeners quickly took notice Lizzie McGuire referenced in the album’s title track.
Oddly enough, the nod to Lizzie – the main character of the beloved 2000s Disney Channel comedy series portrayed by actress and singer Hilary Duff – came amid a wave of protest. Lizzie McGuire The nostalgia has recently been crystallized by a number of celebrity callbacks. After all, remember how Sabrina Carpenter threw it back into Lizzie’s igloo dress for Halloween?
Indeed, just last month, the “Espresso” singer channeled her inner Lizzie McGuire when she showed off a Lizzie-themed dress on TikTok. The stunning outfit – yes, it 100% looks like an igloo, complete with a doorway-shaped opening in the hem – is a striking remix of the igloo dress Duff wore when she played McGuire in 2003 Movie Lizzie McGuireeach Everybody.
And Carpenter wasn’t the only celebrity mentioned Lizzie McGuire in this year’s Halloween costumes – Kendall and Kylie Jenner also dressed up as Duff’s characters in the movie Lizzie McGuire Movie for Halloween.
What is Lamar’s song about? Lizzie McGuire? Actually, it’s not Lamar who raps the lyrics. In fact, Lizzie The name dropping came from Young Threat, who gave the song its final verse among several of the song’s features, such as Genius shows. “Had back-to-back hits / How is this not tiring?” Young Threat raps at the end of the tune. “I’m with some rock star, they want Lizzy McGuire.”
Why at all Lizzie nostalgia? It’s part of a broader cultural wave of 2000s nostalgia that’s been dominating fashion, music and media lately. From returning Y2K inspired costumes to reboots of beloved shows like Zoey 101The early 2000s are more relevant than ever. Lamar, always a master at tapping into the zeitgeist, weaves this sentiment seamlessly into his music.
By reference Lizzie McGuirenot only did he aim for a simpler, more formative era for many listeners, but he also positioned himself as a curator of cultural memory, blending nostalgia with contemporary commentary. The rapper’s ability to acknowledge these cultural undercurrents while maintaining his artistic integrity is what sets him apart.
While others might just rely on nostalgic callbacks as a gimmick, Lamar weaves them into a larger story about identity, evolution, and pop culture’s influence on express yourself. For many Millennials and Gen Z, Lizzie McGuire rrepresents much more than a Disney show – it’s emblematic of awkward adolescence, self-discovery and the pursuit of dreams, themes that resonate with Lamar’s larger body of work.
“GNX” is one of 12 tracks on Lamar’s new self-titled effort and the penultimate track on the album. Other tunes include “Wacced Out Murals,” “Squabble Up,” “Reincarnated” and “Heart Pt. 6.” However, other Kendrick singles released this year, such as the culture-changing “Not Like Us”, are not included on the new album.
Tags Kendrick Lamar, Hilary Duff