by Niko Skinner

Kendrick Lamar is a rapper and producer who is straight out of Compton (pun intended). He has been one of the most influential rappers for the past decade. Kendrick cites other rappers such as DMX, Tupac, Jay-Z, Nas, Snoop Dog, and the Notorious B.I.G. as his musical influences. His music often combines elements from the traditional West Coast hip-hop with those of progressive rap, funk, jazz, and soul. Kendrick also has a unique way of relating issues that he has gone through with a wide array of demographics, regardless of the different walks of life people have had. This is often accomplished through his flow, delivery, and fluctuation of his voice. He uses a deeper voice in some of his songs while he uses a higher voice in other songs. I’ve had to keeping asking myself, “Is there a featured artist he’s not telling us about?” A lot of his songs consist of him rapping in a traditional West Coast style while presenting it as poetic dialogue to his listeners, so you feel like you are having a conversation with him and feeling what he is going through in real time.

Kendrick Lamar released Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers in May 2022. As a longtime fan of Kendrick, I have always viewed his music as vulnerable compared to a lot of California rappers, but this album was a new level of personal. After listening to this, I feel a sense of knowing his story in as close to full as we can know. It touched on a variety of topics such as childhood trauma, family dysfunction, faith, racism, mental health, and fatherhood. “We Cry Together” is especially a track that illustrates Kendrick’s life behind closed doors because it’s a short film that consists of a dialogue between him and actress Taylour Paige in the form of spoken word and rap. From the numerous f-bombs, n-bombs, and b-bombs exchanged between the two to Kendrick taking Taylour’s keys to spite her to the angry sex, this track captures the stereotypical picture of a dysfunctional household that we see on the outside looking in. “Mr. Morale” is probably my favorite track on this album. I loved the mix of percussion and choir vocals. I also feel like the tone and mood of the song’s beat fit very well with Kendrick’s lyrics about his faith and trauma. All in all, I would rank Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers number one when it comes to vulnerability and emotion. As an advocate for mental health, I really appreciate Kendrick opening up. It shows listeners that it is okay and encouraged to be vocal about mental health struggles and to not keep it bottled up inside. It especially breaks the stigma surrounding us African American men that we have to be cold and stoic all the time for the sake of not showing “weakness”. Kendrick is a popular artist, so I feel like more people who believe or have believed this stigma at some point will be receptive to the message being spread by this album.

Kendrick Lamar has been around since the early 2000’s, but I started listening to his music in 2012 and never looked back since. I fondly remember being turned on to some of his earlier work such as good kid, m.A.A.d city and untitled unmastered. His latest album has showed that Kendrick still had a lot left to unpack after nearly two decades.

References

Bandini. “Kendrick Lamar Hints That He Is Releasing A Double Album”. Ambrosiaforheads.com, 3 May 2022. https://ambrosiaforheads.com/2022/05/kendrick-lamar-morale-steppers-two-albums/