![]() ![]() Nevertheless, there’s an unmistakable allure to “Savior,” which sets Kendrick’s anger against a haunting, reversed River Tiber sample. Kendrick can be an über-talented rapper, but that doesn’t mean he’s qualified to be a spokesperson for every facet of Black life. Just because “Alright” soundtracked a summer of protest doesn’t mean he’s Malcolm X or that 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly should be confused for critical race theory. ![]() Cole, Future, and LeBron James aren’t suitable liberators, either. “Kendrick made you think about it, but he is not your savior,” he states in a disaffected tone on “Savior,” while also reminding listeners that J. Ultimately, Kendrick decides the best way to avoid any misunderstandings about his true self is to underline his main point. The effect is akin to Kendrick desperately wanting to remake Usher’s Confessions, but halfway through the process observing all the calls for any rapper past 30 to make their 4:44. Morale circles questions of infidelity, the latter half is more concerned with dredging up familial scars as Kendrick navigates fatherhood. Morale’s first nine songs read as a patient skimming the emotional surface, then it’s not until “Count Me Out” (or “session 10”) that Kendrick has his first “breakthrough.” What comes next is Kendrick embracing his warts as he moves through the cycles of abuse hidden within his family tree and how that’s set him on his current trajectory. (Tolle’s name appears several times on the album, positioning Oprah’s favorite German guru as Kendrick’s spiritual adviser.) Before there’s nothing left of their relationship to save, on “Father Time” Whitney tells Kendrick to seek out self-help sage Eckhart Tolle. These disagreements play out more directly in “We Cry Together,” which features Kendrick and Taylour Paige (of Zola fame) arguing with the dramatic flair of Lin-Manuel Miranda performing Eminem at karaoke night. Morale is autobiographical-is questioning his “lust addiction” and the infidelity that plagues their relationship. From there, Kendrick reveals in lyrical scraps throughout the album that a character named Whitney-likely a reference to his longtime fiancée, Whitney Alford, assuming Mr. On the intro, “United in Grief,” an emotionally spent Kendrick awakes and ponders whether “the psychologist listenin’” before embarking on another day of healing drudgery. Morale & the Big Steppers unfolds like a patient slowly picking away at the crust of a psychic scab. Morale & the Big Steppers’ Instant Reactions Morale & the Big Steppers’ Exit Survey Kendrick Lamar ‘Mr. Morale finds Kendrick coming to terms with a buried childhood memory as he tries to hold himself accountable for the personal havoc he’s wrought, all while tearing down the holier-than-thou image foisted upon him. ![]() Morale & the Big Steppers follows Kendrick as he unloads 34 years of baggage to a therapist and strives to reconcile his disparate views on race, gender, sexuality, addiction, generational curses, and cancel culture. A 73-minute double album-and his final for Top Dawg Entertainment- Mr. Across 18 songs, Kendrick trauma-dumps his way through the murk while hoping salvation is there to greet him on the other side. Released Friday, Kendrick’s fifth studio album is about what happens when a rapper hailed as “the voice of a generation” removes the metaphorical mask (and potentially the physical one, at Kyrie’s suggestion) and reveals that what’s underneath is far uglier, more broken, and more forthright than most had imagined. Morale & the Big Steppers arrived with all the subtlety of Thanos wearing a kufi. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |