Kendrick Lamar delivers a raw, soul-baring musical odyssey on long-awaited double album
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Say this for Kendrick Lamar â heâll make you wait, but when he returns, itâs a massive presentation.
Five years after his Grammy-winning and Pulitzer Prize-earning âDamn,â one of the most profound rappers in the game returned Friday with the double album, âMr. Morale & The Big Steppers.â
On 18 tracks evenly divided between âBig Steppersâ and âMr. Morale,â Lamar spends an hour and 13 minutes steering listeners through a musical odyssey heavy on piano riffs, incongruous bites of sound and, as expected, much baring of his soul.
The guest list includes familiar names â Kodak Black, Baby Keem, Ghostface Killah â and some interesting inclusions, such as actress Taylour Paige (âWe Cry Togetherâ) and Portisheadâs Beth Gibbons (âMother I Soberâ).
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But Lamar, 34, never cedes the spotlight â as he shouldnât â on what will rightfully be considered his musical opus. âMr. Morale & The Big Steppersâ is the first release on his new creative imprint, pgLang, as well as his final association with Top Dawg Entertainment, his home since the start of his career more than a decade ago.
On Friday, Lamar announced the worldwide The Big Steppers Tour, which kicks off July 19 in Oklahoma City and wraps in Australia in December. Baby Keem will join him for all shows and Tanna Leone on select dates.
Lamarâs lyrical intensity is built for repeated listening, but here are some first impressions from standout tracks on the album.
'Worldwide Steppers'
Following an introduction from Black â who refers to Lamar by one of his many alternative names, Oklama â the song swings between a mesmerizing pulse and old-school soul. Itâs also Lamarâs autobiographical catch-up for fans who wonder if he and fianceÌe Whitney Alford had a second child, based on the album cover photo; references to âplayinâ âBaby Sharkâ with my daughterâ and âIâd kill for my son Enochâ would indicate yes. Lamar also alludes to his lengthy absence between new releases: âWriterâs block for two years, nothinâ moved me / Asked God to speak through me, thatâs what youâre hearing now.â
'Father Time'
With a dense piano backdrop, Lamar rhymes about how his âdaddy issues kept me competitive.â But fans will surely buzz about his high-profile name dropping: âWhen Kanye got back with Drake, I was slightly confused / Guess Iâm not as mature as I think, I got some healing to do.â
'We Cry Together'
Not so much a song as a raw, expletive-filled tirade over random piano notes with Lamar and actress Paige hurling insults at each other for almost six minutes. Youâll wince listening to their unvarnished attacks on each other. âThis the kind of (expletive) that couples do?â wonders Lamar. Paigeâs script, meanwhile, includes the verbal grenade, âYouâre the reason R. Kelly canât recognize that heâs abusive.â
'Count Me Out'
The first song on the âMr. Moraleâ section of the album finds Lamar grappling with the contradictions in his head (âI care too much, wanna share too much / In my head too much, I shut down tooâ) and nodding to the pandemic while also remaining reflective (âMasks on the babies, mask on an opp / Wear masks in the neighborhood stores when you shop / But a mask wonât hide who you are insideâ).
'Silent Hill'
Lamar handles the first two verses, which ride on a clip-clopping beat before Kodak Black jumps in for an epic run through the final third with lyrics including âEvery Sunday someone's gotta teach my boy to be a man / I had no father.â
'Savior'
The song following the interlude of the same name squeezes in references to COVID-19, Russian President Vladimir Putin, protests and vaccines (âSeen a Christian say the vaccine mark of the beast / Then he caught COVID and prayed the Pfizer for reliefâ) with an assist from Baby Keem and Sam Dew.
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'Mother I Sober'
For almost seven minutes, Lamar rolls through a list of heartbreaking grievances and vivid descriptions of the generations of women who have affected him in some way. With piano and a throbbing beat the only backdrop aside from some vocalizing, Lamarâs voice rises from a murmur to throes of anger by the final section of the song as he unspools references to physical abuse, sex addiction and cheating on Alford. Portisheadâs Gibbons is the Greek chorus of sorts as she chimes in with, âI wish I was somebody / Anybody but myself.â
'Mirror'
The album concludes with the most groove-infested offering as well as the most melodically cohesive. As Lamar intones âI choose me, Iâm sorry,â with a shrug in his voice, itâs apparent that heâs not apologizing, but, rather, continuing his journey to look at his reflection without remorse.