Review of Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers Album
“By tomorrow, we forget the remains, we start over That's the problem Our foundation was trained to accept whatever follows”
– Kendrick Lamar - The Heart Part 5
Intro:
Kendrick Lamar has been blazing the rap/hip hop scene since the release of his album Section 80, the subsequent Dr. Dre cosign and his alliance with Top Dawg Entertainment which paired him with some of the west coasts most talented artists. Kendrick has been a main stay in the conversation of rap elites since the release of his album Good Kid Madd City. Being touted as the resurrection of the west coast hip hop Kendrick sat atop of the rap world alongside Drake and J Cole who are seen his only true contemporaries. His storytelling along with creativity mixed rough street life with Christian principles embodying the spirt to tell the truth like an activist, seeing the depths of street living and having the poetic ability to tell meaningful stories, speaking on black struggles, and culture along with letting the world know he is the “greatest rapper alive”. With 11 Grammy nominations for To Pimp Butterfly and his Pulitzer Prize win for his Album DAMN Kendrick is a more than solidified his place as one of the greatest minds in music history.
The Kendrick Problem:
Because of the depth of his subject matter, elite rapping with metaphors and double entrees, rhyme schemes and vocal tone usage. Kendrick runs into the issue of creating work that is objectively unreachable to the average fan. This creates a gap between him and the listening audience. He is held as a great rapper and MC though he isn’t played with the frequency of a Drake or a Future; and rarely has hits played in the club. The production used on "To Pimp a Butterfly" was undesirable, erratic and very out of place, though his lyrics were phenomenal the beats accompanying those stories and raps were simply bad to say the least. The replay ability of those songs just wasn’t there except for the song “We gon be alright” and “Mortal Man” which is one of the greatest hip hop songs of all time. The album "DAMN" saw a new approach to production with “DNA” “Loyalty” and “Humble” highlighting this more modern hip hop beat selection but still the album had a problem with connecting on every level. Kendrick also faced critique from Lupe Fiasco who is in my personal Top 5 rappers of All Time. Lupe is another technical MC with the writing chops of some of the best poets and musicians to ever exist.
The critique from Lupe was that Kendrick “didn’t have bars like that” and to which I have to agree. Though Kendrick is elite with his rapping ability able to illuminate on various topics such as life, religion, and the soul, he isn't expansive as an artist trying to create new ways of broaching topics. Lupe’s critique was that though Kendrick has insane rap ability he is not well versed in trying to create the compelling spectacles of rapping Lupe and others create. Every song on Food and Liquor and the subsequent The Cool creates a space where Lupe’s rapping ability is in full display while juxtaposing topics using robots to describe the inner-city struggle, using a corpse of a dead man to illustrate the habits of the drug dealers slain by their enterprise. These stories Lupe prompts are always saying many things and touching on the same types of topics Kendrick raps about but done in such a way to create a spectacle while being thought provoking. Like many movies riddled with depth and meaning each scene lays out some idea but never directly, there is subtly of delivery and for some an abstractness to the endeavor. Kendrick though a giant in rapping ability leaves little mystery or spectacle to his artist feats, though abstract in topic there is a directness to Kendrick's delivery that rarely changes or shifts. Kendrick can rap his ass off but it is never with the cinematic delivery like Rakim who is always setting a scene. In “Lyrics of Fury” it Rakim is uses his voice like video game character trying to destroy his opponent. His delivery is much rougher than the smooth casual delivery of a track like “Paid in Full” which is feels like a thoughtful metaphor wrapped in the Dapper dan Gucci jacket with a gold chain. Though Kendrick has many styles his perspective is always that of a kid from Compton it rarely shifts to rapping from a different angle.
The last critique of the Kendrick problem is conscious rap, which is a hard style of rap to keep fresh and keep from dulling the audience. With a Drake, Future or Migos they have the agency to rap about money, sex, fashion and jewelry and as long as the beat is nice, and the hook is catchy the song performs well. For artist like Kendrick, Rakim and Lupe who rap about conscious topics they have a sort of duty to say something and be initial with their rhymes. To be meaningful with what their discography is trying to promote. This separates them from being able to formulaically make music. The music has to reach down and tell a story like “Who is God” or “Brenda’s got a baby” or “The Cool”. This means the beats can’t be too overwhelming drowning out the message, the chorus has to be catchy, but flow with the message of the song. The song has to be something fans will listen to so the delivery is important people don’t want to be preached to. All these issues Kendrick has had to balance in his artistry. Since his arrival he’s done a fantastic job at times balancing great rapping with meaningful hits. But "Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers" saw a major breakthrough for Kendrick as an artist. He ascended into a stratosphere which no other rapper has ever gone. From track 1 to 18 Kendrick did something in rap which ONLY HE CAN DO.
Threading the Needle:
"Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers" saw Kendrick hit the lottery in conscious rap but also make it a listenable and very fun album to play over and over again. He threaded the needle of great rap, topics, music, album theme, production, and the usage of features. As a rap fan I have always been more on the conscious side opting to listen to Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) and Tribe called Quest than some other acts. Mainstream rap still gets played by me, but I really looked forward to a Black Thought or Lupe Fiasco offering. Kendrick had his issues but on this album they all seem to wash away like a man whose sins have been cleansed after baptism. Emerging from the water every single drum and word placement and chorus is initial, but not preachy, its great music but with great substance, it hits home but Kendrick is right there with you as a listener guiding you through his therapeutic endeavor to come out the other side whole . As a matter fact the album is basically a Therapy Session where Kendrick goes to therapy to get clear on his issues. The album spans on topics of inner-city life, culture, realness, Father issues, LGBT members in a family, and dealing with issues fully sober or clear. The album is beautifully constructed with lovely chords. The production is amazing all the way through and mixes very well for the first time for Kendrick with his message and delivery. The album is a deep introspection on life, growth, family and infidelity, Kendrick ties all these themes together seamlessly with every chord and beat accompanying his journey into self-realization. For once the journey sounds amazing all the way through.
Track Breakdown:
United in Grief- 10/10 - great production and great message and delivery. Really dope record
N95 - 200/10 - Absolute Fire more great production and a great message and delivery. Fire record
Worldwide Steppers- 8/10 - Good song, nice and full track. Great delivery.
Die Hard - 15/10 - ABSOLUTELY AMAZING song! Love this track
Father Time - 15/10 - great track very dope record and phenomenal message and standout delivery
Rich (interlude) - 10/10 - Kodak the poet 🔥🔥
Rich Spirt - 8/10 - more great production, message isn’t there but whatever Kendrick is saying he says it cool 😎
We cry Together - 5/10 - This was fun to listen to on the first listen. I won’t revisit it. Fun song with a great delivery and interesting message. I’m not spinning this record often at all. Love the intro!
Purple Hearts - 10000/10**** - My favorite track on the album. Great production!!! and it has Ghostface Killah on it!!!, Summer Walker floats on this track, Kendrick’s beauty as an artist is on full display on this song very very lovely!! “Ya Baybeee” 🔥🔥🔥
Count Me Out - 100/10 - Another stand out on the album more fantastic production on this. Absolutely lovely
Crown - 8/10 - A love song the Kendrick Lamar way, greatly executed.
Silent Hill- 7/10 - ok production, weak bars from Kendrick. very weak hook. Kodak snapped....
Savior (interlude) – 9/10 - Keem bars 🔥 a bright light for the new era of rappers he is creative and is always a welcome listen
Savior - 10/10- good production, more Keem so I’m happy! 🔥, Kendrick verse is hard
Auntie Dairies- 7/10 - Lower rating has nothing to do with the slur, love the production, FANTASTIC MESSAGE, great lyrics. “The only way to show love is to switch perspective” - one of the great bars of the album
Mr. Morale - 10000/10*** - FIRE PRODUCTION!!!!! Love this track, fire lyrics and fire hook super dope blends. A++++
Mother I Sober – 100000/10***** - Great message, lovely feature , genius song creation. This highlights the theme of the album and every message on the album in a full length breakthrough like water gushing from a dam, or everything coming out when you’ve held pain in too long, or after 10 sessions of therapy and you finally break the wall of your emotional barriers and everything is released. One of the greatest songs ever made.
Mirror - 100/10 - More Great production, very freeing after the depth of “Mother I sober” great song great message phenomenal delivery. A great way to leave the heaviness of the tracks previous and a great way to wrap up the album ❤️
Conclusion:
One thing about this album that is great I can press play and with the exception of ‘We Cry Together’ I can let the album just ride. I could not do that with To Pimp a Butterfly. Very rare to do that with any album, so Kendrick gets a big boost for having the ability to create works of art which can be taken in full and not in pieces. Can press play and just let the album ride. Kendrick is a magician and it was on full display on this album. A human with a skill and artistry which has risen to another level on Mr. Morale and the Big steppers.
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