Kendrick Lamar Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers 180g 2LP

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Grammy- and Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar's fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, features narration by Whitney Alford and Eckhart Tolle, and guest appearances from Blxst, Amanda Reifer, Sampha, Taylour Paige, Summer Walker, Ghostface Killah, Baby Keem, Kodak Black, Sam Dew, Tanna Leone, and Beth Gibbons of Portishead. Lamar reunited with frequent collaborators Sounwave, J. Lbs, DJ Dahi, and Bekon for the majority of the album's production.

Lamar's previous studio album, 2017's DAMN., received widespread critical acclaim, with many naming the album one of the best albums of 2017 and the decade. The album became the first non-jazz or classical work to earn a Pulitzer Prize for Music and won Best Rap Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards, as well receiving a nomination for Album of the Year at the ceremony. In 2020, the album was ranked 175th on Rolling Stone's updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Lamar puts everything on the table with Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, trying to get closer to his unfiltered personal truth, and creating some of his most challenging, expectation-defying work in the process.

The rapper's first album in five years sees him overcome 'writer's block' to triumph with a collection on which his observational skills go into overdrive.

A tender opus from the defining poet of his generation

as musically outstanding as it is lyrically rich

The rapper takes us on a wild ride that will require multiple playthroughs to break down - which, like the MC himself, is complicated, nuanced and always worth communing with.

They might take a little longer to reveal themselves than the more immediate singles that Kendrick put out in the past, but the more you listen to Mr. Morale, the more these songs stick with you and pop into your head. It's an album of many, many moods; it can be devastating, thought-provoking, depressing, confusing, off-putting, awe-inspiring, anxiety-inducing, anger-inducing, and hopeful. And as much as Kendrick has made this a challenging, intensive listen, he's also made it a rewarding one.

Having mastered da art of storytellin' across his previous albums, Kendrick shot it all to hell in 2022. Many of the beats are baroque. The confessionals can be overbearing. And if you find yourself reviled by his toxic revelations or his ill-conceived attempts at redemption, you probably should be. This is what therapy is supposed to sound like. Rap n***** haven't kept it this real and honest in ages. It's about damn time.

The album plays out like an open therapy session, filled with the raw and unfiltered thoughts of one of the greatest rappers to ever pick up the mic. These thoughts are vulnerable, unmanicured and, to the shock of some fans, politically incorrect and ignorant. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers rejects conformity and leaves its flaws in on purpose, featuring some of Kendrick's best and worst songs of his career.