Let’s stop for a moment to honor Kendrick Lamar and his latest album Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers. This album —the fifth in Kendrick’s career— is a double album and is his final one with Top Dawg, Narrated by Whitney Alfor and Eckhart Tolle. The album features guest appearances from over a dozen artists, and it’s all the hype!
Spanning eighteen songs into two sections of nine tracks, it’s a great hip-hop record that genre lovers will surely appreciate. With blues, trap, jazz, and funk elements, Lamar combines these genres into a unique style and blend that will make you blast these beats at full volume.
Who Is Kendrick Lamar?
Kendrick Lamar is a rapper and songwriter born and raised in Compton, California, USA. Firstly, Lamar started his successful musical career as a teenager under the stage name K-Dot, releasing a mixtape that garnered local attention and led to his signing with indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). Kendrick began to gain major recognition in 2010, after his debut retail release, titled Overly Dedicated.
The following year, he independently released his first studio album, Section.80, including his debut single, “HiiiPoWeR”. Moreover, by that time, he had amassed a large online following and collaborated with several hip hop artists, including The Game, Busta Rhymes, and Snoop Dogg.
What Are Some Of Kendrick Lamar’s Greatest Successes?
Kendrick’s major-label debut album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, was released in October 2012 to critical acclaim. The album contained the Top 40 singles “Swimming Pools (Drank)”, “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe”, and “Poetic Justice”. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Preceded by the release of two singles, “i” and “The Blacker the Berry”, Lamar’s third album To Pimp a Butterfly was released in March 2015 to universal acclaim. It gave Lamar his first number-one album on the Billboard 200. His critical acclaim continued with releasing his fourth album, Damn., in April 2017. The album was also a huge commercial success, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, and went on to be certified double platinum by the RIAA.
The New King Of Hip Hop
Additionally, Lamar has received numerous awards and accolades throughout his career, including fourteen Grammy Awards. In early 2013, MTV named him the “Hottest MC in the Game”, on their yearly shortlist. Time magazine named Lamar one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016. Forbes ranked him as the joint-most bankable hip hop artist in 2013. In 2017, Lamar was proclaimed “the new king of hip-hop” by Rolling Stone magazine. Now, he’s impressing us with his latest album.
Breaking Down Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Firstly, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers is jam-packed with lyrical and musical themes. Its early tracks teem rather than play, flitting from one style to the next – staccato piano chords and backward drums; a furious, jazzy loop with a bass drum that mimics a rushing heartbeat; a mass of sampled voices; thick 80s-film-soundtrack synth and trap beats. Furthermore, in Worldwide Steppers, Lamar’s words rush ahead of the backing music, a muted, dense, persistent loop of Nigerian Afro-rock band the Funkees that abruptly flips to a blast of relaxed 70s soul and back again.
The entire album brings collaborations with great names like Ghostface Killah, Baby Keem, Kodak Black, Sam Dew, Portishead’s Beth Gibbons, and Sampha just to name a few. The bulk of the album was produced by Bekon, J.LBS, and Sounwave. Still, this production has many hands: Starting with The Alchemist, Pharrell Williams, Tae Beast, Jahann Sweet, and Boi-1da. In sum, this album is a mixture of talent that impresses.
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers Release Time
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers was released on May 13, 2022. Firstly, Lamar teased the album’s cover on his IG back on May 11. A great media hype followed this in what could possibly be described as the greatest album drop in rap history. On May 14, 2022, Lamar dropped the music video for the song N95. And with this, we conclude our latest coverage of Kendrick Lamar at Otakukart.
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