Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers

Rap – Released May 13, 2022 – 18 songs, 73 mins

ROZ

‘I spend most of my days with fleeting thoughts. Writing. Listening. And collecting old Beach cruisers. The morning rides keep me on a hill of silence. I go months without a phone…While the world around me evolves, I reflect on what matters the most… Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts. I’ve prayed for you all. See you soon enough.’ -oklama, august 20th, 2021.

Five years after the release of the critically acclaimed DAMN. Kendrick chooses to come out of hibernation, finally returning his finger back onto the pulse of society. Kendrick has recruited an army of talented and ambitious producers for his newest album; the breadth and depth being instantly noticeable. United In Grief’s fast paced drum breaks, strings, and piano arrangements have no trouble keeping up with Kendrick’s breakneck pace to create an introductory track that is both electrifying and mesmerizing. The album sustains a healthy balance of high and low energy, with radio hit caliber anthems such as Die Hard, Savior, Mr. Morale and Mirror acting as a foil against the soulful piano driven timbres of tracks such as Father Time and Crown. Each productions ability to not only match the tone, cadence and overall message being spoken but also having the ability to elevate how each message is relayed to the listener is a testament to the intimate process that occurred within the studio - undoubtedly with Kendrick himself at the helm.

MM&TBS covers a myriad of subjects with one imposing, overarching theme that can be defined in one word: self. Kendrick explains his absence in great detail, how he’s been living in seclusion in order to focus on his family and raise his children, choosing to escape the constant noise of society and alleviate the insurmountable pressure of being held up as a cultural and generational figurehead in the music industry and beyond. Kendrick aims to break the stigma of having to be an emotionless, ‘tough love’ strong man as his father was and the generations before him. United in Grief deconstructs his past materialism and his decision to seek therapy – a subject continued through introspective thought pieces Father Time, Silent Hill, Mr. Morale and Mirror. This is unquestionably Lamar at his most vulnerable.

‘Valley of silence’ is a phrase found throughout MM&TBS’s 73 minute length, as Kendrick breaks his 1,855 day silence in order to make one simple, resounding statement: he is not your Savior. He never asked to be a leader, he never asked to be a role model. Depicting himself (and his many faults) in great detail, he attempts to break cultural taboos and shed the ideals of toxic masculinity (Father Time), toxic relationships (We Cry Together) and personal ignorance (Auntie Diaries), using himself and his own experiences as the source. Above all, he highlights the need for self-care and personal happiness over any and all societal pressures - a conversation that honestly needs to happen more in this day and age. Trauma, healing, growth, acceptance – Kendrick Lamar leaves his own personal valley of silence in order to speak up and bring light to a message that is both meticulously crafted and expertly revealed.

Overall Rating: 9.0/10

Favourite Song: Savior

REID

Kendrick Lamar. The good kid from the m.A.A.d city of Compton, California. With worldwide superstardom and several critically acclaimed albums under his belt, he returns with his post-COVID album, Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers.

Hours before the album release, Kendrick dropped The Heart Part 5, the latest installment of his song-series. You must respect the thinking behind this move. Can you picture him thinking ‘Let me drop a little something to remind everyone I’m the f*cking man?’. The music is layered, production is fantastic, his lyrics are culturally relevant and delivery is the best in the business. Using the ever-evolving deepfake technology in his video, nothing Kendrick does is without deep thought. He raps ‘Sacrifice personal gain over everything, just to see the next generation better than ours,’ and it’s a sign of things to come.

Two minutes into MM&TBS, I broke the TSR rule and texted the boys ‘holy shit!’. This is a master at work. It’s remarkable to hear the effectiveness of such an unorthodox style. Piano, drums, strings, harmonized vocals and a soulful message on grieving and therapy. Excellent stuff and it held up as my favourite despite several contenders. N95 is up next and my recommendation to followers is to pull up the lyrics and read along. In the age of social media, influencers and an obsession with the material, Kendrick pleads you to strip it all down and log off. The real beauty in life isn’t found online. (Huh, facts).

By now it’s obvious we’re in for a heavy listen. Who likes lists? In no particular order MM&TBS discusses; Daddy issues, trans rights, grief, sex addiction, child abuse in African American culture and sexual assault. He even adds what I like to think of his version of Eminem’s Kim with We Cry Together, a virtually unlistenable shouting match between him and Taylour Paige to highlight domestic disputes. These issues all tie back to Kendrick’s overall message of the benefits of therapy and encouragement to face your problems head on to improve life for yourself and your loved ones.

Who wants to listen to any of that? Kendrick flips it from what may sound like a chore to an absolute pleasure. The creativity is simply off the charts. Whether it’s the instrumental-like chanting and heavy bass in Count Me Out, the haunting or melodic piano in Crown and Savior, finger snapping in Rich Spirit or the back and forth with Kodak Black in Silent Hill, Kendrick’s poetic brilliance and rap genius shines through time and time again.

Kendrick Lamar is a generational talent in the prime of his career. He uses his platform on MM&TBS to deliver a message of normalization and acceptance to his millions of fans. Simply put, he is currently second to none in the game and is paving his way to Mount Rapmore.

Overall Rating – 8.8/10

Favourite Song – United In Grief

LUNDI

Kendrick Lamar. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. Need I say more?

The long awaited album immediately catches your ear upon first listen with the highest quality production and all the unique elements to differentiate throughout. United in Grief and N95 establish the album immediately and the elite soundscapes are carried throughout the majority of the 18 tracks. While each song credits numerous producers it’s a collaboration process that absolutely worked. The multiple voices and directions in the room never became too crowed and each song has its own flare that allows the backing tracks to have that extra juice and stand out both in Kendrick’s discography and rap music in general. 

We can all be very thankful for that production though as it helps lift the weight of the heaviest lyrics of Kendrick’s career. He clearly had a lot to say and spent his hiatus watching carefully from the sidelines while he crafted this collection of songs that touch on the most pressing cultural and personal subjects being experienced in every day life. He does not stray from anything that could remotely be touchy, in fact he appears to constantly want to make the listener uncomfortable. MM is largely an album for Kendrick himself and that’s just fine. 

Kendrick twists the uncomfortable knife over and over singing of race, religion, monogamy, family, COVID, mass shootings, the future, sexuality. It’s all here. What makes it so hard to listen to its that it’s all so very true. America is to put it bluntly, absolutely fucked. Kendrick stands at the throne and preaches to the masses on MM but like every other outcry in America this will sadly go unheard to the people that call the shots. 

Ok now here’s the really tough to swallow part and I’m jumping into the first person for this… Don’t get caught up in what I’m about to say because it’s minor in the big life picture buttttt…I don’t think this album is enjoyable. Bare with me. It’s more so a necessary experience. It has greatness in spades as discussed above BUT when we talk strictly music and the pure enjoyment of it, does this album get there? I don’t think so. How often are you firing this whole album on repeat? How many of these songs are you blasting at a house party? Are there any hits? Maybe 1 or 2. It’s an extremely hard listen and that’s very likely the point. The life messages are 10/10, but the complete musical experience, while enjoyable at times, doesn’t come close to those heights. 

Kendrick Lamar is pure greatness. A preacher at his most influential point in life. He articulately touches on subjects with poise and smarts and has the production to match. Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers is an all time great culturally important album for what it says and how Kendrick says it, but is it enjoyable from a strictly musical perspective? I’m not so sure. I respect this album much more than I love it. 

Overall Rating: 8.0/10

Favourite Song: Mr. Morale