Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers Pt. 2

                 We’re back at it again with part two of going over Kendrick Lamar’s album “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” and before we get into the second half of the project, I quickly wanted to share my thoughts about my interpretation of the album cover and name. From what I’ve said about the first half of the project, I can clearly tell that Kendrick is reforming himself from the ground up by addressing his traumas in the past and his current views on life. This has allowed him to correct his present self from making the same mistakes in the past through therapy and opening up about the vices he’s used to escape what kept him up at night. That all being said, I do think Kendrick Lamar is ‘Mr. Morale’, a man who’s allowed himself to be used as a guide just like he found in Eckhardt. He’s not perfect by any means, but he’s not afraid to talk about what really bothers him. This includes the status of society in our post-pandemic world, the figures and institutions that are meant to inspire the later generations of people but are instead corrupting them, and the aspects of his ‘culture’ that do more damage than create happiness for those who take pride in it. This to me makes sense when I look at the cover art to see Kendrick being a family man yet having a crown of thorns on his head and a gun on his belt buckle. He still has issues getting over everything he’s witnessed from the past, and he still struggles with addressing everything. His walls are raised, and the gun symbolizes his old ways of dealing with his insecurities and toxic aspects of himself. However, the crown also shows that he’s willing to sacrifice himself to be that martyr that inspires those who look up to him. While he’s not their savior, he is the person who’s willing to air out all of his laundry for the hope that it inspires other people like him to do better and learn from what they’ve witnessed in their lives. These people are the Big Steppers, people who are one step ahead of life because they learned everything Kendrick is trying to promote in his album. As to what he’s trying to teach his audience, we’ll discuss right now.

                Song ten is “Count Me Out” and does a great job at reminding listeners what Kendrick has gone over with songs one through eight. We hear the intro having a recurring sound from song one through eight but we get hints that Kendrick is still in therapy. However, we hear Whitney say at the end “Session 10, breakthrough” meaning that finally, Kendrick made the progress he’s been waiting for. Kendrick sings about himself in verse one, talking about how he is a public spectacle as an artist even if he doesn’t want the attention. He’s a sensitive person yet people treat him like he’s void of emotions and always has this cape of greatness attached to him wherever he walks. This used to anger Kendrick because he didn’t understand how people on the outside can love him more than he does as he struggles with aspects of himself that can be seen as “weak” or “ugly”. But just like the intro hinted at, he’s doing better. He’s learning how to show self-love towards himself and because of that, he’s able to understand the complexities of who he is as a person. He sings that healing isn’t easy, but it’s possible and close to those that need it. It can be hard to obtain because our world doesn’t advertise healing and human development but rather material wealth that’s constantly flaunted on our social media platforms and television shows. Verse two has Kendrick rapping about how he was constantly reassured from other people that times would get better, but he never felt like it was occurring. This left him confused and lonely at times, not seeing the gifts that would come after putting in the work to better himself as a person. Finally, Kendrick says that he’s willing to finally confront “Miss Regrets” and sweep the skeletons out of his closet in an effort to be the person that he and his family want for him.

                Now we approach song eleven, “Crown”. The main theme for this song is expectations, and Kendrick uses a really interesting instrumental with mostly pianos to explain how expectations change from person to person, but actions will always be valued over the promises we tend to make to keep these expectations high. The chorus is “And I can’t please everybody...No, I can’t please everybody…Wait, you can’t please everybody…”, showing that even Kendrick can’t keep high expectations all the time and that he can’t be there all the time for people that would need him most. However, the pre-chorus adds an interesting idea with “To not be there when somebody needs you…you say no and all you’ve done gives them amnesia…one thing I’ve learned, love can change with the seasons”. To me, this means that expectations aren’t just things you want people to do, but it’s a set of guidelines that comes with patience in case the person isn’t able to meet those guidelines all the time. If someone isn’t able to meet your expectations one day, that doesn’t mean that they don’t care and all of a sudden it’s impossible to reason with them. Love is much more than that, and it changes over time but still stays grounded for the people you care about.

                Next up is song twelve, “Silent Hill”. This song pretty much talks about pushing away negative energy that you receive from people in your life. Kendrick’s noticed the difference between those who are good for him and those who aren’t, and he’s not afraid to push them away now that he knows better. The Kodak Black feature was probably my favorite part of the song, and it shows that he’s also going on the same journey that Kendrick is currently on. I think it’s pretty cool to see these two men show self-care in an environment where you wouldn’t really expect that. A lot of male rappers have this chin-up persona that promotes charisma in moments but can also show an unrealistic portrayal of how men are emotionally insensitive. It was at this point in the album that I kind of got a better idea of how this album is being formatted. For me, this album seems to be a guide for men but specifically towards black men that have brought up similarly to how Kendrick was raised in Compton. Now that he knows a lot more about life, he wants to share these thoughts and lessons to his people, definitely pushing the idea of who “Okloma” is.

                Okay, now we’re at the second interlude of the album called “Savior (Interlude)” If you guys recall, I reviewed Baby Keem’s debut album “The Melodic Blue”. I really enjoyed it and knew that he was going to be under a spotlight very soon with the number of amazing features and now tracks under his belt. And boy does this track also showcase his ability to rap on an instrumental that I thought was super smooth with the replacement of a drum beat with a mix of string instruments. The interlude starts off with Eckhart Toelle talking about how someone can get their sense of identity through the trauma they faced in their past. Taking what I just said in the prior paragraph, now the picture is clear on what this interlude is supposed to bring when we hear Keem rapping about his experiences growing up. This interlude was honestly one of my favorite tracks on the whole project and does a great job at showing everything I’ve talked to up to this point.

                After the interlude we reach song fourteen “Savior”. This is another one of those songs that go hard not only in the instrumental but the lyrical content that Kendrick has to offer us. The song starts off with four notable lines, “Kendrick made you think about it, but he is not your savior…Cole made you feel empowered, but he is not your savior…Future said ‘Get a money counter’ but he is not your savior…’Bron made you give his flowers, be he is not your savior…” These lines had me confused for a good minute, but I really do think he’s trying to say that while it’s okay to have role models and people to influence your path in life, it doesn’t mean that they’re anything other than another person. I think this is an important concept to understand because I feel like when we as rap fans see amazing pieces of work like Kendrick’s discography, it’s easy to treat him like he’s something bigger than life. However, if there’s one savior that Kendrick wants you to note, it’s you. You’re the only one in power of affecting your life even more than what you experience in music, so it’s important to not undervalue your own control on your life. The first verse criticizes people that call themselves pro-Black but act the opposite, especially those that are in the black community yet practice unhealthy and sometimes toxic behaviors towards their own people. Black on black crime has been something that Kendrick has always rapped about in his music, and I think it’s effective when he sings about it more here. The second verse attacks cancel culture and how it’s created this constant feeling that you’re walking on eggshells when it comes to voicing your opinion. Yet, at the same time we still see constant abuse of our media platforms with news outlets and figures on social media spreading misinformation and very negative outlooks on the world. I really liked this point of view because it shows how picky the cancel culture can seem, focusing down on opinions of bad taste rather than those that can harm other people. However, even though Kendrick notes that we live in a world that contains bad people, that doesn’t mean that we as listeners can’t try being our best selves. Cut out the negative energy in your life and you won’t receive as much over time, but it takes work to create the environment you feel truly happy in. This is what Kendrick says to be the reason as to why he hasn’t been in the public eye in so long. He’s seen that the ones with the least information talk the most, so he figured it would be easier to just listen and try to work on his own craft.

                Song fifteen is a very, very interesting one to me. “Auntie Diaries” is a song with Kendrick softly rapping about his experiences living with his gay aunt and his transexual cousin. He raps about how he learned about accepting the LGBTQ+ community through the notable family members that he had the privilege of loving. He also saw in his life how even though they were good people, they were treated as outcasts in both the black community and in church. While at first he would play along with these behaviors like using slurs and names when playing with friends, he knew deep down that it wasn’t right to use those words if he valued his family members as much as he proclaimed. This and his experience of seeing his cousin be ridiculed at church made him want to change, and he raps about how a lot of the words that are being used to treat people unkindly have power because we give it power. However, it’s when he’s faced with the challenge of feeling comfortable with having white people say the n-word that he realizes that this challenge is harder than what it seems. This song brings up a lot of interesting ideas and brings up a lot of questions like if a song that’s meant to promote acceptance should have slurs and even deadnaming. For me personally, I enjoyed this song because it was easy to see Kendrick’s perspective on this whole matter, and his usage of the words in this song wasn’t seen as an effort to hurt the people he’s singing about but as an effort to explain the ignorance that can be seen when using these words in a casual manner.

                Song sixteen, “Mr. Morale” is a much more personal song as Kendrick talks to his son in the first verse. At this point in the album, Kendrick proclaims that he’s ‘detoxed’ and got rid of a lot of things that ail him. With the person he is now and his newfound belief in religion, Kendrick feels more capable than ever to fight negative influences from hurting him or his family. Another concept that Eckhardt created that’s covered in this song is the idea of a “pain-body”. According to a website I looked up, apparently the pain-body is an invisible entity of emotional pain that is accumulated through one’s life. This collection of emotions stick with you and can prevent you from feeling inner peace if not acknowledged. This concept is something that Kendrick clings onto in this song and it does seem to make sense why this idea would be implemented in this album. With Kendrick using this project to talk about the effects of his traumas from the past, he decides to also use this album to address his pain-body. By doing so, he’s able to properly move on from his issues of the past and take the first steps to being a better him.

                Up next is “Mother I Sober”, and this song is another deep song that resonated with me like “Auntie Diaries” and “We Cry Together” did. Lots of trauma dumping with Kendrick talking about his experiences growing up with his mother, having the first one be when Kendrick saw his mother being beat by his father at the age of five. Kendrick notes how useless his felt in this circumstance, and even as he stayed committed to providing the best life for himself and his family, he still held that regret with him the whole time. The second event was when Kendrick was a child with his mother accusing Kendrick’s cousin of making sexual advances on him when he was a child. At the time, Kendrick didn’t understand why his mother didn’t believe him even when he said that nothing happened, and this event definitely created lasting effects on his mind as he grew up. It’s until when he was an adult learning about his mom’s past did he realize that she herself was sexually abused when he was young, explaining her behavior when she thought her son was suffering the same thing. The third scenario that Kendrick looks back on is when his wife confronted him on his ‘lust addiction’. It was at this moment he felt the guilt of having this addiction and decides to seek out therapy to get better. He thanks his wife for being that person to encourage him to seek therapy. From here, Kendrick talks about how his life is one that is similar to many black lives and that trauma is deep rooted in the black community. This trauma can create generational rifts as time moves on, making it harder and harder to find the unity Kendrick dreams of.

                Finally, FINALLY, we are here. We are at song eighteen, “Mirrors”. This song pretty much summarizes who the new Kendrick Lamar is. He tells us loud and proud that he chooses to focus on himself and holds his head high as he ends the project. He also addresses the fact that in recent history, many people who looked up to Kendrick hoped for him to say something about the political matters with the police in America to the situation with COVID. But as always, Kendrick keeps it real by saying “Sorry I didn’t save the world, my friend I was too busy buildin’ mine again”.

                “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” is a very complex album that goes over the mind of Kendrick Lamar, a black man that suffers through generational trauma and personal insecurities as he changes in a very volatile time in our world. He chooses to be blunt in some matters but does a great job at choosing when to give more details and personal insight on other concepts like the ones covered with Eckhardt. I had a hard time finding a rating for this album because I initially tried comparing this to his other works but it’s not fair to do so for this project. Kendrick makes it clear that his project is different from his other ones because he himself is a different person…and I honestly see it. So.. I’m going to give this album an 8/10 rating. It’s a solid album that shows effort and consideration throughout the entire track list, and that’s something I find rare these days. I hope you guys enjoyed the review and had a great Memorial Day weekend.

 

 

 

Favorite Songs: N95, Die Hard, Father Time, Purple Hearts, Savior (Interlude), Savior, Auntie Diaries, Mirror