Album Review: Kendrick Lamar's “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers”
The cover art for Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, released May 13, 2022 (image courtesy Renell Medrano / Interscope Records)
by Laila Brustin ‘25
Content Warning: strong language, brief mentions of abuse, assault, and molestation
If you’re like me and are a bit too excited about music, then you’ll know about Kendrick Lamar’s heavily anticipated album Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers. Released in May of 2022 after five years of no solo albums, this newest two-disc addition to Lamar's discography is one for the books and certainly worth the massive hype surrounding it.
Lamar’s Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers is reflective, contains complex stories, and is a beautiful configuration of rap, singing, and instrumentation. Like his previous masterpieces, themes and detail are of the utmost importance. To Pimp a Butterfly discusses the guilt Lamar felt after reaching fame and leaving his home in Compton, CA. Good Kid M.A.A.D City tells his personal coming-of-age story. In Damn, Lamar struggles between the concepts of free-will and destiny in how one breaks free from generational-bonds. Now delving into arguably his most personal topics yet, Lamar creates a new and unique journey through his music.
The story of Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers is structured into two discs. The first section contains nine songs, beginning with an overview of where Lamar has been the past 1,855 days. The opener “United in Grief” lays out the struggles of the past five years with allusions to infidelity, familial issues, therapy, materialism, and the image of celebrity. Lamar is ready to take a step back and focus on what he cares about most. He is also frustrated, sharing thoughts from his vantage point as both a celebrity and hip-hop icon. “N95” gives this message clearly as Lamar tells the listener, and perhaps himself, to stop pretending and face who you are.
“Take off the Chanel, take off the Dolce, take off the Birkin bag (Take it off) Take all that designer bullshit off, and what do you have?”
The confrontational attitude of “N95” shows the ways in which Lamar has changed in order to live a fulfilling life. He does not want or need to be any of what is typical or expected for a famous artist. Instead, he continues by discussing wide-spread issues in perhaps my favorite song on the entire album, “World Wide Steppers.”
“I'm a killer, he's a killer, she's a killer, bitch
We some killers, walkin' zombies, tryna scratch that itch
Germophobic, hetero and homophobic
Photoshoppin' lies and motives
Hide your eyes, then pose for the pic”
Lamar describes how organizations and symbols for good can be mechanisms for killing. He comments again on celebrity, temptation, and the moralities behind superiority complexes. However, Lamar soon moves onto what matters to him in my other personal favorite track on the album. The fourth track “Die Hard” is a melodic and confessional song made for Whitney, Lamar’s fiancée and the mother of his two children. He expresses a deep love, asking partially for forgiveness for his past actions and partially for a reception of his feelings.
“I hope I'm not too late to set my demons straight
I know I made you wait, but how much can you take?
I hope you see the God in me, I hope you can see…”
This particular focus on his relationship is woven throughout later tracks such as “Father Time,” where he discusses formative events and therapy, as well as the intense “We Cry Together.” These two tracks are also key in discussing mental health and traumas which result in refusing to receive help. Lamar confronts stigma surrounding black men and mental health by sharing his experiences in self-healing.
The smooth “Purple Hearts'' is the final track of disc one, tying together the first major theme of Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers: creating stronger family ties through personal growth. He raps about wanting to maintain what is meaningful in his life rather than jeopardize them with the falsities of “N95'' or the pains of “We Cry Together.” Lamar has found a place he cares deeply about within his family and the culture of rap and hip-hop. It is a hopeful step forward and sets the stage for the humbled mindset of disc two.
The second section of Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers moves the focus from becoming better for oneself and one's family to an up-close look at Lamar’s struggle with fame and being the “savior” of hip-hop. The opener “Count Me Out” acts as an overview, similar to “United in Grief.” Lamar seems to face endless demons within his rapping; he creates the motif of the mirror which shows himself as his own enemy.
“But a mask won't hide who you are inside
Look around, the realities carved in the lies
Wipe my ego, dodge my pride (and I'm trippin' and fallin')
Look myself in the mirror
Amityville, I ain't seen nothin' scarier”
The weight of others' expectations is laid out simply in “Crown.” The song is straightforward in that Lamar cannot please everyone. Fans and critics will always feel unhappy, his family may feel he is too busy, the communities he’s a part of that he does not give back enough. The second album photo for Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers acts as precise imagery for these emotions, wherein a crown of thorns sits heavily on Lamar’s head as he lays back from exhaustion.
image courtesy Renell Medrano / Interscope Records
However, the following tracks “Silent Hill” and “Savior” discuss the ways in which Lamar is shedding this emotional burden. In “Silent Hill,” Lamar pushes away those who critique, hate, and bother him. Meditations and time with his children create silence and distance from those stressful spaces. “Savior” is the most clear cut about being first and foremost a flawed person. Lamar hits the nail on the head with the first verse:
“Kendrick made you think about it, but he is not your savior.”
Lamar goes on to list the celebrities J. Cole, Future, and LeBron James. He states their greatest accomplishments and follows with: “but he is not your savior.” Lamar has had enough of the glorification and wants everyone to recognize that he is only a person who cares about his art. While deconstructing the metaphorical pedestal he has been placed upon, Lamar also offers redemption to the “cancelled” artist Kodak Black who has gone to court for both sexual assault and armed robbery. Black’s feature in “Silent Hill” alongside Lamar’s personal and often insinuating stories encourage the listener to re-think their views on so-called heroes and villains. However the listener wants to take these artistic decisions and new revelations, they are all aimed towards humanizing artists.
From this point in the album, four tracks are special in showing Lamar’s development and humanity. The immensely personal and fairly unexpected story of “Auntie Diaries” differentiates itself immediately from the rest of the album with its heavy use of drums. Lamar leans in, sharing about two important relationships in his life. The first is about his auntie, who came out as a trans man in adulthood. While his auntie’s identity and decisions were questioned in their family and community, Lamar always backed him up.
He then turns to speak about his cousin Mary-Anne who is a trans woman. While the family never expected Mary-Anne’s transition, Lamar could always sense who she was. They became distant as adults, but after work on each of their ends, the two reconvened. Their relationship shows how Lamar navigated his loyalty to family among his peers while growing up in Compton, as well as how he confronted his religious life:
“Heart plays in ways the mind can't figure out
This is how we conceptualize human beings…
I said, "Mr. Preacherman, should we love thy neighbor?
The laws of the land or the heart, what's greater?
I recognize the study she was taught since birth
But that don't justify the feelings that my cousin preserved"
The building was thinking out loud, bad angel
That's when you looked at me and smiled, said, "Thank you"
The day I chose humanity over religion”
He and Mary-Anne also discuss language and the ways it has harmed them. Throughout the song, Lamar explains that the f-slur was used throughout his childhood and that classmates repeatedly used it to bully Mary-Anne. Now as adults, Mary-Anne explains to Lamar that unless you are a part of the LGBTQ+ community you cannot use the word. She makes the comparison to using the n-word. How can there be limits to what is spoken if she cannot also be respected? Lamar learns this boundary and recognizes the ways in which once casual words impact those close to him.
While “Auntie Diaries” leaves on a hopeful note of personal growth, Lamar takes the next track to transition to the low vibrations and then quick tones of “Mr. Morale.” He pants and yells as he begins the song. There is a return to the themes presented in “United in Grief '' and “Father Time,” acting as tie-in on generational trauma and receiving therapy. Lamar first touches upon himself. He shares that he has gone through a transformation, even as he still struggles and faces challenges. The next section of the song presents Oprah Winfrey, R. Kelly, and his mother as examples of abuse from different sides. He ponders the impacts of their experiences and finally calls the listener in:
“Huddle up, tie the flag, call the troops, holler back”
In “Mother I Sober” Lamar opens up to the listener about wrenching memories. The first of these is when he was five and unable to protect his mother from an abusive situation. The next major memory is when Lamar’s family accused his cousin of molesting him. He told the truth by stating his cousin had not touched him, but no one would believe his testimony. The third is Lamar’s admission of a sex addiction and the ways that it has impacted his relationship with his fiancée. Each of these stories intertwines with a final message on generations of trauma and sexual abuse. Again, Lamar leaves the listener with hope:
“... So I set free the power of Whitney, may she heal us all
So I set free our children, may good karma keep them with God
So I set free the hearts filled with hatred, keep our bodies sacred
As I set free all you abusers, this is transformation”
The final track and full closure of Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers is “Mirror.” Lamar takes a final reflection having explored his growth for family and clarified that he is only human. He emphasizes the importance of critical thinking rather than placing blame. He also shares how he continues to work on himself. Lamar has learned that his relationships are not about “saving face,” but instead about being unconditional with love and the truth. He apologizes to his fans for no longer prioritizing them, declaring that he is leaving behind temptation, family struggle, expectations, and more. Kendrick Lamar is choosing himself moving forward.
