tv off

Album

GNX

Label

Interscope Records

Genre

Hyphy

Media Type

AC

Duration

3:40

Composer(s)

Kendrick Duckworth

Entered Chart

Jul 12, 2024

Peak Date

Jul 12, 2024

Released

November 26, 2024

Recorded

May 2024

"TV Off" is Kendrick Lamar's call to action: reject mediocrity, ditch the toxic hangers-on, and stay laser-focused on what matters. He uses the metaphor of "turning the TV off" as a sharp critique of passive consumption and societal conformity. And K-Dot does all this while weaving themes like accountability, survival, legacy, and loyalty into the track. "TV Off" is the seventh track on Kendrick Lamar's sixth album, GNX, surprise-released on November 11, 2024. The track opens with a reference to the Buick Grand National GNX. All I ever wanted was a black Grand National For the uninitiated, the Buick GNX wasn't just a car - it was the car, a snarling beast that's very rare, with just 547 ever made. It's no accident Lamar chose this as the album's namesake and recurring motif. In a slice of autobiographical trivia that's pure Lamar, the Grand National GNX was the car his father drove him home in from the hospital after he was born. It's both a symbol of ambition and a nod to his roots. The song is a reunion with producer Mustard, who also teamed with Lamar for "Not Like Us," the knockout blow of Lamar's rap war with Drake. But where "Not Like Us" delivered a Cali bounce drenched in G-Funk swagger, "TV Off" splits in two: the first half dances through familiar West Coast grooves while the second half pivots dramatically into triumphant, brassy fanfare. Mustard came up with the two parts of the beat at different times. "That first half was definitely in the same realm of me making things like 'Not Like Us,'" he told Billboard, "and the second half was a beat that I was doing for this other theatrical album that I'm trying to make. And I was just like, 'Man, let me see if Kendrick would like this.' I sent it to him and he was like, 'This is crazy.'" The beat switch occurs around the two-minute mark when Lamar shouts ""MUSTAAAARRRRRRD!" Following the album's release, memes depicting the mid-song howl took social media by storm. Report This Ad The outro features a cameo from Lefty Gunplay, a Latino MC from LA's Baldwin Park neighborhood. He is one of several up-and-coming California rappers Lamar enlisted for GNX. In just four words - "Crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious" - Lefty captures the rap industry's blend of chaos, unpredictability, and humor. "Four words was all it took to have the best song," he laughed to LA Times. "All the other artists Kendrick features are real street dudes, and I'm so glad I got to be a part of that class. He sees something in us - he ran the play and gave me the alleyoop." The song contains two samples: "Mac Arthur Park" by Monk Higgins (1968): Mustard clearly admires Monk Higgins. He previously sampled Higgins's 1968 recording of "I Believe to My Soul" on "Not Like Us" and revisits the jazz-funk saxophonist's work on "TV Off," drawing from Higgins's soulful 1968 interpretation of the hit song "MacArthur Park." "The Black Hole - Overture" by John Barry (1979): Mustard pulls a snippet of horns from John Barry's score for The Black Hole. Lamar closed out his 2025 Super Bowl halftime show performance with "TV Off." DJ Mustard joined him on stage during the track. After the song, he teased a bit of "Not Like Us," which he played later in his set.

[Part I]

All I ever wanted was a black Grand National
Fuck bein' rational
Give 'em what they ask for

It's not enough (ayy)
Few solid niggas left, but it's not enough
Few bitches that'll really step, but it's not enough
Say you bigger than myself, but it's not enough (huh)
I get on they ass, yeah, somebody gotta do it
I'll make them niggas mad, yeah, somebody gotta do it
I'll take the G pass, shit, watch a nigga do it
Huh, we survived outside, all from the music, nigga, what?

They like: What he on?
It's the alpha and omega, bitch, welcome home
This is not a song
This a revelation, how to get a nigga gone
You need you a man, baby, I don't understand, baby
Pay your bill and make you feel protected like I can, baby
Teach you somethin' if you need correction, that's the plan, baby
Don't put your life in these weird niggas' hands, baby (woah)

It's not enough (ayy)
Few solid niggas left, but it's not enough
Few bitches that'll really step, but it's not enough
Say you bigger than myself, but it's not enough (huh)
I get on they ass, yeah, somebody gotta do it
I'll make them niggas mad, yeah, somebody gotta do it
I'll take the G pass, shit, watch a nigga do it
Huh, we survived outside, all from the music, nigga, what?

Hey, turn his TV off
Ain't with my type activities? Then don't you get involved
Hey, what? Huh? How many should I send? Send 'em all
Take a risk or take a trip, you know I'm trippin' for my dog
Who you with? Couple sergeants and lieutenants for the get back
This revolution been televised, I fell through with the knick-knacks
Hey, young nigga, get your chili up, yeah, I meant that
Hey, black out if they act out, yeah, I did that
Hey, what's up, though?
I hate a bitch that's hatin' on a bitch and they both hoes
I hate a nigga hatin' on them niggas and they both broke
If you ain't comin' for no chili, what you come for?
Nigga feel like he entitled 'cause he knew me since a kid
Bitch, I cut my granny off if she don't see it how I see it, hm
Got a big mouth but he lack big ideas
Send him to the Moon, that's just how I feel, yellin'

It's not enough (ayy)
Few solid niggas left, but it's not enough
Few bitches that'll really step, but it's not enough
Say you bigger than myself, but it's not enough

[Part II]

Huh
Huh, huh
Hey
Hey (Mustard on the beat, ho)

Mustard!
Niggas actin' bad, but somebody gotta do it
Got my foot up on the gas, but somebody gotta do it
Huh, turn his TV off, turn his TV off
Huh, turn his TV off, turn his TV off
Huh, turn his TV off, turn his TV off
Huh, turn his TV off, turn his TV off

Ain't no other king in this rap thing, they siblings
Nothing but my children, one shot, they disappearin'
I'm in the city where the flag be gettin' thrown like it was pass interference
Padlock around the buildin'
CRASH, pullin' up in unmarked truck just to play freeze tag
With a bone to pick like it was sea bass
So when I made it out, I made about 50K from a show
Tryna show niggas the ropes before they hung from a rope
I'm prophetic
They only talk about it how I get it
Only good for savin' face, seen the cosmetics
How many heads I gotta take to level my aesthetics?
Hurry up and get your muscle up, we out the plyometric
Nigga ran up out of luck soon as I upped the highest metric
The city just made it sweet, you could die, I bet it
They mouth get full of deceit, let these cowards tell it
Walk in New Orleans with the etiquette of LA, yellin'

Mustard! (Ah, man)
Niggas actin' bad, but somebody gotta do it
Got my foot up on the gas, but somebody gotta do it
Huh, turn his TV off, turn his TV off
Huh, turn his TV off, turn his TV off
Huh, turn his TV off, turn his TV off
Huh, turn his TV off, turn his TV off

Shit gets crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious
Crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious
Shit gets crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious
Crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious
Shit gets crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious
Crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious
Shit gets crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious
Crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious