KENDRICK LAMAR - MR. MORALE & THE BIG STEPPERS
Credit: Renell Medrano
Kendrick Lamar’s fifth album provides a deeply personal and introspective journey into the rapper’s mind, solidifying him as a full-fledged poet.
Disk one of the album opens with a single phrase that sets the tone and theme of the album, “I hope you find some peace of mind in this lifetime,” a sentence that straight off the bat paints a thousand pictures. It could highlight Kendrick’s own struggles for as long as he has been away from music, or even since his career began. It could be a message to the listener – everyone deals with their own personal hell after all, no one is ever truly without struggle.
Soon enough, Kendrick appears, and thus the project begins with ‘United in Grief’, immediately starting with introspective questions and opinions on the overall culture and social status of modern humanity. Coming to terms with his own celebrity status and mental health issues. This theme continues in ‘N95’, a double entendre on the N95 face mask, while also the hypothetical mask people wear in their everyday lives. Urging people to take of their ‘material mask’ and face the reality which exists behind a lack of mental wealth. ‘Worldwide Steppers’ serves as a self-criticism as well as an insightful delve in his 5-year hiatus since DAMN released. The interesting part about this track is the sectioning of each critique Kendrick has towards himself throughout the verses. Whether it be through him questioning his past interracial relationships, leading to a past incident with his ex-labels food drive which possibly led to heart issues among the people who attended. ‘Die Hard’ solely focuses on relationship and honesty issues that Kendrick has. Starting with doubts about being loved and his difficulties opening up to people, the song ends up being an introspective journey into acceptance, healing and growth, as Kendrick realizes that in order to become the best version of himself, he must overcome his past.
At this point the album finds its true stride, as the opening skit in ‘Father Time’ featuring one of the best features on the album, Sampha, features a conversation between Kendrick and his partner Whitney Alford, in which she notes the need for therapy sessions. And in reality, ‘Father Time’ is the first song in which you can really feel the beginning of this therapy session. This song is the first highlight on the record, and a track in which Kendrick is the most vulnerable as he’s ever been. Elaborating on the generational toxic masculinity that exists throughout families, using his own experiences with his father as an example. This also transforms into a general commentary on how these daddy issues can be transcribed into gang violence in community, whether it be through the inception of masculinity being part of being a gangster, or following a precedent set by existent fathers that promote toxicity. Followed by the ‘Rich – Interlude’ and ‘Rich Spirit’ it is quite easy to expect this continuation of self-reflection and debates on spiritual and mental themes with amazing melodies and beats continuing throughout. That is until the next track starts playing.
The way ‘We Cry Together’ side-tracks the audience is masterfully executed. Starting with a Florence and the Machine sample the listener can assume a more emotional cut. What truly ends up spiralling during the almost 6-minute track is a heated abusive argument between a couple layered on an amazing beat courtesy of The Alchemist. It is a very difficult listen, and while it is one of the highlights of the album due to its raw emotion and excellent Taylour Paige feature, its brilliance hides inside the first listen due to its subversion of expectations. In a thematic continuation Kendrick decides to end Disc 1 with ‘Purple Hearts’, a song that while leans into themes of drugs, love and forgiveness does feel like a continuation of ‘We Cry Together’, as it preaches the opposite.
Disc 2 opens with ‘Count Me Out’, the beginning of Kendrick’s 10th therapy session in which he finally makes a breakthrough. The song revolves around him opening up about his relationships, specifically about the people that don’t believe in him and underestimate him, only to realise that he is better off without the weight of living up to others’ expectations. Sonically it is one of the more mainstream songs on the album, with a catchy chorus suited for live shows and a groovy instrumental. Leading into ‘Crown’, it is quite noticeable that it set out to do the exact opposite. Instantly, the audience will notice the Duval Timothy piano sample which the beat bases itself on. What follows is a deep dive into Kendricks mental and brain. Mentioning how he must step up as the voice of his community while also not being able to please everyone is a reminder of how nihilistic the world and society is. It also serves as one of the most important songs on the album thematically, as it coincides with the album cover, which depicts Kendrick wearing a crown of thorns.
Soon enough, the album enters its hits phase, with ‘Silent Hill’, ‘Savior – Interlude’ and ‘Savior’ bringing the melodies, choruses and lyrics that are bound to perform well at festivals, tours, and radio play. Starting with ‘Silent Hill’, which includes a very solid feature from Florida rapper Kodak Black, the standout instrumental makes itself very prominent throughout the song. A funky baseline, spooky piano riff and recordings of gun silencers fit in with the title of the track. While the song itself is surrounded by topics of life, what it is to be successful and the ideology behind fake relationships, the title can allude to feelings of loneliness, and masking the fake people as monsters, similar to the cult classic horror game.
The interlude before ‘Savior’ features Kendrick’s cousin, Baby Keem, as he provides an emotionally charged verse accompanied by dramatic violins and classical instruments as he elaborates on his difficult childhood, leading to his recent memories, struggles and the society he surrounds himself in. This flows effortlessly into ‘Savior’, which starts with a similar piano instrumental as Kendrick reminds the audience that the public figures and celebrities are not humanity’s saviours. This swiftly shifts into a fascinating warped instrumental, with the piano rearranged in a way that is reminiscent of a Latin beat. The two verses following touch on the current crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as the rappers’ own flaws, missteps, and struggles. What is fascinating about these three songs is the continuation of these important and quite heavy themes even though they sound more on the mainstream side of things, it keeps the sense of authenticity throughout the album.
The following song, ‘Auntie Diaries’ can be easily described as Kendrick’s most controversial song for multiple reasons. This was the most difficult one to approach, as its themes and lyric content divided the audience. The track touches on the homophobia and transphobia that exists within society, the church as well as the hip-hop community. Elaborating these themes, he uses the example of his own family members who are transgender, from the starting point of his past views when he was a child, leading up to his understanding of it as he grew older. It is quite an important track for the genre, in the sense that it progressively transforms from a young rapper reciting homophobic slurs, deadnaming, and misgendering his relatives, to a mature version who now understands the importance of being comfortable in your own skin.
Towards the end, he challenges his peers juxtaposing the misuse of the F-slur within his community with the use of the N-word by white communities, prime example being his live show in 2018 in Alabama, in which he forced a member of the audience back into the crowd due to their use of the N-word. The main controversy that can be found within the song is mainly stemmed within the use of the slurs, deadnaming and misgendering. While it definitely isn’t most people’s favourable way of describing growth and these important topics within society, it accurately and brutally depicted the weight of transphobia and homophobia within the hip-hop community. The language used is fully intentional. The song doesn’t feel like it aims to appease the LGBTQIA+ community but rather to serve as a wakeup call for the creatives and people who have yet to accept these changes. By no means however does it invalidate the people’s criticism of the song, as these details are still very apparent in today’s society, and fully affect the minorities that coexist within them.
After this, we are introduced to the title track, ‘Mr. Morale’. Straight away, Pharrell Williams’ production shines through, as an eerie synth leads the instrumental. Kendrick speaks on generational trauma throughout using R Kelly and Oprah as prime examples in his lyrics, it is an exceptional song which leads into not only the best song on the album, but one of Kendrick’s best songs full-stop.
‘Mother I Sober’ is the magnum opus of the rapper’s repertoire. Marking the first collaboration between Kendrick and Portishead’s lead singer Beth Gibbons, it is the most vulnerable we have seen the artist. He tackles his trauma and past experiences head on with brutal realism, rawness, and deeply personal lyrics. Moving through verses, he explains the abuse he witnessed as a child, criticising himself for not doing anything. Explaining the guilt of growing up with the burden of feeling like he could have done more in his situation, reaching a point where he couldn’t even look his mother in the eyes because of it. The chorus leans into this guilt, “I wish I was somebody, anybody but myself”. Moving into the last verse, this is where Kendrick truly and fully opens up to the listener. He brings closure to his guilt, realising that his experiences have truly affected him, as well as the community he is a part of. He becomes “free” from the toxic generational curse within his community, he raises the alarming existence of the normalised sex culture which he has witnessed, and multiple children face each day. He breaks this curse through his transparency, honesty, and pride, tying together all the themes he touched upon throughout the album itself.
The final track of the album, ‘Mirror’, ends with the reiteration of the album’s themes, alongside the pressures of fame and the difficulty of being modest when being globally recognised. Kendrick breaks away from the culture he had become accustomed with, growing as an individual and creating an album that doesn’t aim to make his audience happy. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers is the Compton rappers’ road to recovery. It’s a therapy session leading to self-knowledge which was released to the world in order to make the listeners challenge themselves and break out of the restraints of what can be considered normalised behaviour, even if that behaviour is damaging to communities. The final lyric reads “I choose me, I’m sorry”, confirming that the realisation and confrontation of one’s truth only adds to growth. Society can’t change if the individuals don’t confront themselves first.
Dan Tsourekas
★★★★★