KENDRICK LAMAR, MR. MORALE & THE BIG STEPPERS 

After DAMN. came out in 2017, it seemed like Kendrick Lamar had achieved excellence, he embodied the big brother role by the age of 29, justifiably so.

There is no need to introduce the Compton born rapper anymore, after a decade of dominance in the hip-hop industry, there is a serious discussion that needs to be held at some point and that is whether he will go down as the best rap artist of all time. This conversation alone could last another decade so we’ll leave it for another time. Hint, he is a serious contender.

The actual thought of having a new body of work from Kendrick Lamar always seemed impossible for some reasons, after DAMN. a lot of people weren’t quite sure what to expect and when to expect it. Kendrick has always been a very private and reserved person in the age of social media with everyone sharing their lives, it almost comes across as strange to hear that he has been quiet about many things in his life, including his wife and two kids. But it definitely isn’t. 

Rumours of his next album circulated since… well 2017 really, a double album was teased after DAMN. but never saw the light, unless it was never meant to.

Throughout his career, Kendrick has touched on sensitive topics that most rappers tend to avoid, and that since a young adult with Black Hippy, being a Black man in America, to vivid storytelling in Section. 80 in Compton and Los Angeles, there aren’t many subject matter the rapper hasn’t talked about.

Mr Morale and The Big Steppers was the name given to the Californian’s fifth studio album, with many anticipating a rock album from as early as two years ago. The album is 18 tracks long and decomposed in two, Mr Morale regrouping the first 9 tracks until the penultimate song featuring Summer Walker and Ghostface Killah Purple Hearts and The Big Steppers starting off with Count Me Out- a personal favourite after a bunch of listen to the full album-.

Something Kendrick has done better than most for the majority of his career is to create so many layers around his music; sonically, Section. 80 and DAMN. sound nothing alike, but people always knew what Kendrick was going to talk about lyrically: segregation, racism, poverty and talking from other people’s perspectives have always been part of his motto. 

Nobody has had quite the same level of dominance for so long, and being able to master so many different music styles whilst utilising dozens of different voices/accents.

Which is why it was always going to be difficult to release this one, and I think Kendrick knew. After all, GKMC and TPAB are two of the best albums of all time, does Kung Fu Kenny care about topping them or does he simply want to keep producing his craft?

I would like to start to simply say this, no, Mr Morale & The Big Steppers isn’t a body of work that needs be to taken lightly, and I was skeptical before writing this review. This album will be on constant rotation for the next few months and so naturally, my opinions will differ as time passes. I will also catch references that I didn’t before, and that’s normal.

As for now, and four full listen of Mr Morale & The Big Steppers, I can comfortably say this, the industry takes Kendrick Lamar for granted and expect him to save people in times of darkness; the death of George Floyd, the LGBTQ+ community suffering harder than ever as well as toxic relationships being normalised in today’s society, it’s fair to say that Kendrick does his best in raising awareness against issues that need questioning but he maintains throughout his project that everyone needs to be held accountable.

Bringing guest stars like Kodak Black, Summer Walker, Ghostface Killah and Baby Keem amongst many others was something unexpected to say the least-perhaps excluding Baby Keem, but each individual brought something different to the body of work. Taylour Paige talks from the perspective of a woman in a toxic relationship with a voice of despair, anger and sarcasm on We Cry Together whilst Beth Gibbons brings a soothing sound on Mother I Sober, already considered a masterpiece in its own way.

Savior featuring Baby Keem and Sam Dew talks about the political and economical state of the world, whilst Kendrick calls out Kyrie Irving regarding the whole COVID situation and the mandate in New York before he was allowed to play a few months back. Baby Keem brings a range of different vocals that we have been used to since The Melodic Blue, reiterating his strong position in the game. He also features on Savior - Interlude where he talks about his pride and his family, displaying an impressive level of confidence.

Over the 18-track album, it’s clear as daylight that each song adds something different to Mr Morale & The Big Steppers, lighter songs like Father Time and Silent Hill still touch on subjects that are rather serious but done so in a way where Kendrick is still able to have fun with it.

Heavier tracks include Mother I Sober, United in Grief, Rich Spirit, Mirror and Auntie Diaries, where he talks about being honest, sad and desperate. On Auntie Diaries, he talks about one of his aunts becoming transgender, breaking many stereotypes and telling things as they once were, and how they are today. The track is powerful and told in the most vivid way. 

As previously mentioned, Mr Morale & The Big Steppers will take millions worldwide months, even years to be fully understood. Kendrick is an incredible artist and there are so many layers to his craft that it just makes me excited to decipher everything once I have gone over the barrier of understanding the album sonically, only then will I be able to truly understand its storytelling.

My personal favourites after over 24 hours include N95, Father Time, Count Me Out and Silent Hill.