May 15, 2022

ALBUM REVIEW: Kendrick Lamar - Mr Morale & The Big Steppers

Album Review:

Kendrick Lamar -

Mr Morale & The Big Steppers

1855 Days.

It's here.

Kendrick Lamar - Mr Morale & The Big Steppers.

The most hyped album in the last 6 years.

And...?

I'm not sure how to feel about this.

Upon hearing the first track ", United In Grief ," I thought this album had so much potential, between the intriguing stage-like intro and the machine gun-like drums on the back half of the track. Tied together with solid bars and delivery. However, the next track sets the hit-or-miss tone for the rest of the record. This album has much potential in concept, seeing Kendrick further mature as a person and become a father. However, some of the beats and delivery are not up to the regular Kendrick Lamar standards.

Track 2, N95 sees Kendrick on a beat which could easily fit onto an album such as Kanye West's Donda, rapping about how people disguise themselves using clothes and materials. And I do not have much problem with this beat or the first verse, however, it is in the chorus and the second verse where cracks start to show. His delivery is not ideal, it sounds as if Kendrick is trying to attempt a Baby Keem style-cadence, but it just isn't working. Especially the obnoxious "UH" in the chorus. On the latter half of the second verse, Kendrick switches to a somewhat indecipherable mumbling flow. There is then another repetition of the chorus before a brief bridge. After this bridge comes the third verse. And God. The inflection on this is horrible. It sounds like his vocals are imitating a squeaky door hinge. Luckily, Kendrick switches flow after a few bars and it becomes listenable.

The Next Track, Worldwide Steppers is comprised of two halves, the first sees Kendrick talking about fatherhood and writer's block. Before retelling the times when he had sex with a while girl. This is all delivered over a Westside Gunn/Alchemist style beat. This then briefly switches to another beat before switching back. Overall I think this is a solid track, it's just that we get music of this quality from Griselda artists multiple times per year. And that also brings up another problem, this does not feel boundary-pushing, instead it feels derivative.

Track Three, Die Hard is nice, Kendrick's delivery is good and Blxst delivers a pretty good chorus. Kendrick's pen game is good and overall the instrumental sounds nice. The lyrics delve into Kendrick's home life and overall it is a solid track, although it does not stick out much. I feel this song would fit right in on an album such as Drake's Views.

Next comes one of my favourite tracks, Father Time. The song starts with a line that bears a resemblance to one from The Heart Pt. 5 "I come from a generation of home invasions", followed by a beat using a reversed soul sample, which is quickly dropped for another beat. Overall this song is one of Kendrick's best, especially with the amazing hook by Sampha. While it may not be as conceptual as Sing About Me or FEAR., it is still introspective and sounds immaculate. The verses in this song detail the prominence of father issues in the hood, and Kendrick becoming a Father.

After a short interlude by Kodak Black, we find ourselves at track 7, Rich Spirit. I find both the shallow trap beat and Kendrick's off-kilter delivery very off-putting. Especially in the chorus, with Kendrick singing "bitch, I'm attractive" it seems pointless and is very repetitive. Overall, this is not only one of my least favourite songs on the album, but one of my overall least favourites in Kendricks' discography. Because again, it feels derivative. This song is not bad because it had bad qualities, it is bad because it lacks good qualities. I cannot pick out one part of this song that I like.

However, The very next track, We Cry Together, redeems the steaming pile of shit that is rich spirit, as this is, dare I say, one of Kendrick's best songs. With production from the alchemist, this 'song' might as well be a field recording, as it is a very real depiction of a domestic dispute, and before I continue I must say that if you or someone you love finds themselves in a relationship such as this, they should leave immediately.

With that said, We Cry Together is more or less a rerun of "u ", while I believe u is a better track, in fact, Kendrick's Best track. I think We Cry Together manages to build on u without feeling like a complete rip-off, I would happily place this track next to the likes of FEAR. and Sing About Me when ranking Kendrick's discography. However the emotional success of this track can be attributed to one Taylour Paige, delivering a heartbreaking performance in this raspy, worn out voice, and almost breaking out in tears.

And can we take a moment to take in the Alchemist's immaculate production, on a grimy Griselda-esque beat. Also, can be found my two favourite lines on the entire album, where Taylour Paige says she would rather "F*ck Kendrick's Cousin", and also saying she "Should'a found a bigger d*Ck."

The next track on the album is Purple Hearts, which is ok, I like when the strings come in for Ghostface Killa's verse but the chorus is not the best, especially the pluck-sounding "ba-bie"s.

After this track we begin side two of the album, which continues the inconsistency between tracks found on side one.

The first track of side two is Count Me Out, which opens with the same choir like vocals which were found on the opener, before an unnamed character says "Session 10", which could be referring to the start of Father Time, in another unnamed character tells Kendrick he "Really needs some therapy". After this Kendrick goes on an introspective monologue over a choir, before a thick bassline comes in, and the beat changes to a more trap type beat. With Kendrick doing his usual lyrics. This track feels like N95 done right, although it is slightly more melancholic.

The next track, Crown, I enjoyed the sentiment of on my first listen, however as I listened to the song over and over, I couldn't stop thinking about how bland it was. The vocals in this song are sparse. And for once, Kendrick is spelling it out simply. As in this song Kendrick repeats over and over "I can't please everybody." This song would be so much better with some strings, like a lush cello and maybe some vocal harmonies. This song still does have some high points though, such as the lines

"They idolize and praise your name across the nation.

Tap the feet and nod the head for confirmation
Promise that you keep the music in rotation
That's what I call love (That's what I call love)"

(See The Full Lyrics Here: https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-crown-lyrics)

All the song lyrics can be found at the end of this review.

I feel that this song, and this album at whole, is Kendrick coming to terms with the fact that he "Can't please everybody", and sacrificing his art in order to further himself as a person, as this may not be the Kendrick album we wanted, but it is necessary for him to evolve.

After this track comes Silent Hill.

And dare I say it, this is the worst track Kendrick Lamar has ever released on a studio album. I said that what makes the track Rich Spirit bad is the absence of good, but this track not only lacks good qualities, but has so many detrimental qualities. With some examples being The watery, shallow, beat that sounds like a bird being tortured. And not to mention Kendricks' ATROCIOUS delivery at the start of this track. The track gets better after the start, but not by much as the rest is bland and uninteresting, not to mention there is a verse from Kodak Black on here.

Up next is another interlude, this time by Baby Keem. And the start of this interlude sees him in prime form, although he does go back to rapping about the status quo - Cars and Bitches. All this is over a string arrangement which is lush, and would fit perfectly on Crown.

This interlude leads into the track Saviour, a track about how we put celebrities on pedestals and take away their humanity, a concept that has not been done much by Kendrick, but has been done by other artists such as JPEGMAFIA. This track also has something which a lot of the others were lacking, BASS. This track comes in with some Earth-Shattering 808s as Kendrick raps about the Black Live Matter protests and Putin, among other things. Baby Keem delivers a satisfactory chorus, although I think another Sampha feature would fit much better.

After this track comes...

Track 15.

Auntie Diaries.

As A prominent member of the LGBTQ+ community I feel obliged to offer my opinion on this song. This song gets off to a good start, and I adore the climax of this song. And disregarding a certain aspect of this song, I think this song is on par with tracks such as FEAR. and DUCKWORTH., and this song feels like a pride anthem.

However.

In this song, to prove a point, Kendrick uses the F slur repetitively in this track. And while I am willing to dismiss this track as Kendrick uses it somewhat to prove his growth, however there are many members of the LGBTQ+ community that have traumatic memories associating this word, and I can see why many would be angry.

Track 16, Mr. Morale, is a banger in every sense of the word. This song starts with a synth arpeggio over this angelic choir sample, before some brain-knocking 808s enter the track. This track is one of the most radio friendly on the album, especially between Pharell's production and harmonies over the track.

This track is immediately brought back to earth by the pure "Mother I Sober " Talking about the emotional labour it takes to make art recalling on traumatic experiences. This track also talks about rape, and ties together the entire album's theme. Explaining that Kendrick cheated on his wife, and she reccomended therapy to him.

This track is bare-bones, but is extremely impactful. It is full of descriptive, detailed lyrics. And I feel that this is Kendrick Lamar's best song.

I can't even do it justice.

While songs such as Sing about me and Wesley's Theory may be more complex instrumentally and lyrically. This song has such a vulnerability, this is Kendrick completely raw. It is the difference between Sleepwalk and Cliffs Of Dover. The feel of this song will overcome any fancy instrumentals. Any big concepts. This is Kendrick pouring his soul out for the world to listen. Unfiltered.

While this would be a great note to end the album on, there is still one more track. "Mirror ". This track is fine, it is very pop-influenced, and revolves around the sentiment of "I Chose me, I'm sorry", which almost confirms my theory of Kendrick sacrificing his art to further himself. There are also links to other Kendrick songs here, however, If we covered every intricate detail in this album, we would be here for a lot longer.

Overall, this album sees Kendrick Lamar maturing, and thematically and musically, I feel this record fits between Brockhampton's ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, and Kanye West's The Life Of Pablo. Roadrunner sees the memebrs of Brockhampton turning into better people, and The Life Of Pablo sees Kanye West dealing with fatherhood, media oversaturation, fame and sex addiction.

That said, this album was very hit or miss.

6.9 / 10

Tell Me, What did you think of this album?

And check out my other stuff as you do.

Links:

https://twitter.com/Valkriviews

https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-united-in-grief-lyrics

https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-n95-lyrics

https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-worldwide-steppers-lyrics

https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-blxst-and-amanda-reifer-die-hard-lyrics

https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-father-time-lyrics

https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-rich-interlude-lyrics