Kendrick Lamar

After a long five-year absence, Kendrick Lamar has finally returned. Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers is the kind of dense, complex, contradictory and ...

“Auntie Diaries” is the highlight of an album that finds him fitfully evolving beyond the fears, misogyny, and wanderlusts of his past in favor of a richer, positive “morale” life. Mr. Morale finds him learning to let go of his youthful biases, an evolution not only prompted by his years-long absence from the rap scene (save for a handful of guest shots like Baby Keem’s “Family Ties”) and a global pandemic, but also his desire to be a better father, romantic partner, and citizen of the Black community, all while learning to accept a level of fame that makes fans swarm him whenever he’s seen in public. Mr. Morale listeners are already parsing several Lamar lyrics that seem to embrace “cancel culture,” a concept many would argue doesn’t exist. He reveals that his aunt “is a man” now and his cousin is “Mary Anne now,” but he can’t help but deadname both by calling out their identity before they transitioned. “Guess I’m not as mature as I think/Got some healing to do,” he adds. He admits that he frequently used the word “faggot” when he was younger. It’s Gibbons’s most high-profile musical contribution since Portishead’s final album to date, 2008’s brilliant Third. Until now, she’s only made modest appearances with Jneiro Jarel and MF Doom’s JJ Doom project and British metallers Gonga (the latter an evocative cover of Black Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath”). Coupled with Portishead’s reunion gig during a May 2 Ukraine benefit concert, this month has brought a surprising groundswell of activity from the famously publicity shy singer. However, it’s worth listening to Lamar’s lyrics within the context of the entire album. Some will ask why Lamar is platforming a talented but wayward rapper who has been convicted for sexual assault and has generated numerous controversies since former president Donald Trump pardoned him in January 2021. In the meantime, here are five observations from a long night of deep listening. Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers is the kind of dense, complex, contradictory and thrilling journey into the mind of Pulitzer Kenny we’ve been waiting for. With over 70 minutes of music, there’s plenty here to process, enjoy and debate.

Kendrick Lamar has released his fifth solo album, "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers."

5. Savior ft. 7. Mr. Morale ft. 3. Silent Hill ft. 5. Father Time ft. 9. Purple Hearts ft. 4. Die Hard ft.

After a five-year hiatus, the Pulitzer winner returns with an exhilarating hip-hop feast that ties personal pain to collective trauma – and lets no one off ...

Tellingly, the next track begins with Tolle: “Let’s say bad things were done to you when you were a child, and you develop a sense of self that is based on the bad things that happened to you…” Mother I Sober offers a devastating series of verses that draw together slavery and sexual abuse, and deal unflinchingly with a sexual assault experienced by his mother and an episode in which a young Lamar, being questioned by his family, denied that a cousin had abused him. Elsewhere, the track turns its ire not merely on white people glomming on to the Black Lives Matter movement (“one protest for you, 365 for me”), but the black community and indeed himself. One interlude features a string quartet and 74-year-old German self-help author Eckhart Tolle discussing the perils of a victim mentality alongside Lamar’s cousin, rapper Baby Keem, whose concerns are more earthy: “White panties and minimal condoms”. On Worldwide Steppers, Lamar’s words rattle out at such a pace that they threaten to race ahead of the backing track, a muffled, dense, relentless loop of Nigerian afro-rock band the Funkees that suddenly switches to a burst of laidback 70s soul and back again. Its opening tracks don’t so much play as teem, cutting frantically from one style to another – staccato piano chords and backwards drums; a frantic, jazzy loop with a bass drum that recalls a racing heartbeat; a mass of sampled voices; thick 80s-film-soundtrack synth and trap beats.

On a bravura album, the Pulitzer-winner sheds egotism, incorporates many voices and opens his private world.

The rapper on Friday dropped his latest album, "Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers." It's his first studio album in five years since 2017's "Damn.".

Lamar dropped a new music video on Sunday for a song titled “The Heart Part 5." In a later verse, Lamar elaborates: "Demetrius is Mary-Ann now. Lamar is known as a virtuoso who constantly pushes musical and artistic boundaries with his projects. Lamar's new song “The Heart Part 5” is not on the album Variety called the song a "powerful, genre-shifting statement on transphobia." The rapper on Friday dropped his latest album, "Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers." It's his first studio album in five years since 2017's "Damn."

Following this week's release of his highly anticipated new album, Mr Morale & The Big Steppers, the 14-time Grammy winner has announced his world tour, ...

His sole December show is the artist's fourth time performing in New Zealand. This time round, the Compton-born rapper is also making it a family affair: his cousin Baby Keem has been announced as his supporting act across the US, Europe and the UK before the pair arrive in Australia in early December and lastly, New Zealand. When Lamar, who won a Pulitzer Prize for music for his album Damn, announced his last New Zealand show in 2018, tickets for the Dunedin and Auckland shows sold out within seconds.

Lamar is bringing his The Big Steppers Tour to Auckland's Spark Arena on Friday, December 16. He will be supported by Baby Keem.

The penultimate track from Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers quietly unpacks the rippling effects of family trauma, with an assist from Portishead's Beth ...

It’s a window into the source of Lamar’s insecurities and faults, both in his relationships and his self-worth. “My mother’s mother followed me for years in her afterlife/Starin’ at me on back of some buses, I wake up at night,” Lamar murmurs over a piano playing a simple yet somber progression. Through each of his releases, he’s gone to great lengths to paint scenes of his childhood and teenage years, conveying how the chaos of growing up in Compton informed every decision he’s ever made.

The response to Kendrick Lamar's new song "Auntie Diaries" is divisive: Though Lamar is being praised for acknowledging trans people, he's also being ...

Lamar just announced a world tour to support the album, beginning Still others said that, flawed as the song is, it was meaningful to hear a rapper of Lamar's caliber -- he's the only rapper "My auntie became a man and I took pride in it," Lamar says on the new track, saying he "grew accustomed" to his uncle's transition as a young person.

The rapper Kendrick Lamar released what some fans are calling a "barrier-breaking song" about accepting his transgender relatives.

He stopped her after a few verses, because the woman, who was white, sang the N-word along with him. But the fan added that there are "better ways" to convey that message. "In what universe is deadnaming and misgendering remotely acceptable?" He later raps that standing up for his cousin brought his family together. / The laws of the land or the heart, what’s greater?'" But he goes on to describe how when his relative picked him up from school, his friends "stare."

To wit, the second verse features a parable about a Christian who, after catching COVID, "started to question" Kyrie Irving and the NBA player's protest against ...

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This is it, the big one, the concert news hip-hop fans have been waiting for: Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar has released his brand new double album, Mr Morale & ...

An update was expected “soon” on a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Bloomfield said it was possible we could be heading for “another quite large” outbreak of cases during winter. “Then those details will be provided daily,” he said. Auckland’s Covid numbers continue to be higher than all other regions, but it has dropped back from yesterday. The seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 14. There are 29 new deaths of people with Covid-19 being reported today.

The new album by hip-hop superstar Kendrick Lamar is called Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers and is out Friday. It's been more than 5 years since his last ...

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On the heels of his fifth studio album, rapper Kendrick Lamar announced the Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers Tour, a 65-date world tour with Baby Keem.

Lamar has said he’s starting a new company, pgLang, with former TDE executive Dave Free. Tickets for his new tour go on sale to the general public May 20 on Lamar’s website, Oklama. The first tickets for the U.S. shows will be made available to Cash App customers through an exclusive ticket presale that begins May 19 for new and existing Cash App Cash Card holders. The Compton-bred artist will be joined by his cousin and “Family Ties” rapper Baby Keem at all the shows, while Tanna Leone, who is also featured on “Mr. Morale,” will be joining Lamar on select dates, according to promoter Live Nation. Lamar has scheduled seven shows in California in late August and early September. The “Humble” and “All the Stars” emcee will play the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Aug. 30, the Oakland Arena in Oakland on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, Viejas Arena in San Diego on Sept. 6, the Honda Center in Anaheim on Sept. 7 and the Crypto.com Arena in downtown L.A. on Sept. 14 and 15. The 14-time Grammy winner announced the sprawling, global arena tour on Friday, which will extend from North America to Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The 65-date Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers Tour kicks off at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on July 19 and wraps at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, on Dec. 16. Kendrick Lamar will be taking his just-released and long-awaited fifth studio album, “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” on tour, including several stops in his native California.

Hip-hop buffs and critics are itching to decipher Kendrick Lamar's next era when new album 'Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers' is released at midnight.

In his single "The Heart Part 5," he eulogizes himself, sending a last message to his loved ones in the final verse. "And to the killer that sped up my demise, I forgive you, just know your soul's in question." Lamar writes from an otherworldly place, hinting toward completion and separation from the rest of the world as a heavenly body. The first song, "Blood," ends with Lamar being shot. I’ve prayed for you all," Lamar wrote on his Oklama website. " 'Section .80' was more about the people, my debut album will be more about me. Many verses explore how being born in the '80s affected the life journey of his peers. The Compton-born rapper's fifth studio album (out Friday) has been mostly under wraps, with cover art released a little more than 24 hours ahead of the release ( which hints that he might be a father of two now) and no advance streams offered to journalists. "We will live forever, believe that. All right?" As I continue to pursue my life’s calling." "I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint," Lamar posted on his website in August, referencing Top Dawg and using the Oklama pseudonym.

Kendrick Lamar has revealed the artwork for his highly anticipated album, "Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers," which is scheduled for release Friday.

Lamar recently released his first new single in five years, "The Heart Part 5," along with a video of himself using technology A woman who appears to be his fiancée Whitney Alford is also seen in the image, holding an infant. Last month, Lamar teased the new album on social media, posting a document posted to his "oklama" website, revealing that it would be released on Friday.

Since his 2017 album, “DAMN.,” the California rapper has won seven Grammys and the Pulitzer Prize for music. “Mr. Morale,” his fifth LP, is expected to make ...

To some extent, those may also serve as clues for the next stage of Lamar’s career. Even after Lamar’s extended absence, “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” is expected to make a sizable opening-week splash on the Billboard albums chart. “DAMN.” was cited in 2018 as “a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.” Lamar embraced the accolade, appearing in concert with a “Pulitzer Kenny” banner behind him. “Mr. Morale,” his fifth LP, is expected to make a big splash on the charts. The visual artist Lina Iris Viktor sued, saying her work was used without permission in the track’s video; the lawsuit was settled in late 2018. His 2017 album, “DAMN.,” won five Grammy Awards, though it lost album of the year to Bruno Mars’s “24K Magic.” (The rapper has 14 total Grammy wins.) Lamar, who grew up in Compton, Calif., and has made that area’s culture and struggles a central part of his music, also became the first rapper to receive the Pulitzer Prize for music.

Lamar's long-awaited follow-up to Damn., and his final album for TDE, has arrived at last.

Producer: Beach Noise, DJ Khalil, J.LBS, Sounwave Composer/Lyricist: Anthony Dixon, Dennis COles, J. Pounds, Jake Kosich, Johnny Kosich, Kendrick Lamar, Khalil Abdul-Rahman, M. Spears, Matthew Schaeffer, Sam Dew, Summer Walker Additional Producer: Beach Noise, J.LBS A&R: Brock Korsan, Kevin Rodriguex for pgLang A&R Coordinator: Juanita “Niya” morton for pgLang Assistant Mixer: Anthony Vilchis, Trey Station, Zach Pereyra Associated Performer: Ghostface Killah, Kendrick Lamar, Summer Walker Asst. Recording Engineer: Andrew Boyd, Evan Fulcher Engineer: David “Dos Dias” Bishop, Johnny Kosich Mastering Engineer: Michelle Mancini Mixer: Manny Marroquin Rap Vocalist: Ghostface Killah, Kendrick Lamar Recording Engineer: Jonathan Turner, Matt Schaeffer, Ray Charles Brown Jr., Raymond J Scavo III Studio Personnel: Andrew Boyd, Anthony Vilchis, David “Dos Dias” Bishop, Evan Fulcher, Jonathan Turner, Johnny Kosich, Manny Marroquin, Matt Schaeffer, Michelle Mancini, Ray Charles Brown Jr., Raymond J Scavo III, Trey Station, Zach Pereyra Producer: Beach Noise, Bekon, Dahi, Duval Timothy, Sounwave, Victor Ekpo Composer: D. Natche, Daniel Tannenbaum, Duval Timothy, Jake Kosich, Johnny Kosich, K. Jones, Kendrick Lamar, M. Spears, Matthew Schaeffer, Sampha Sisay, Victor Ekpo Lyricist: D. Natche, Daniel Tannenbaum, Duval Timothy, Jake Kosich, Johnny Kosich, K. Jones, Kendrick Lamar, M. Spears, Matthew Schaeffer, Sampha Sisay, Victor Ekpo Additional Producer: Duval Timothy, Victor Ekpo A&R: Brock Korsan, Kevin Rodriguez for pgLang A&R Coordinator: Juanita “Niya” Morton for pgLang Assistant Mixer: Anthony Vilchis, Trey Station, Zach Pereyra Associated Performer: Bekon, Dahi, Kendrick Lamar, Sampha, Sounwave Assistant Recording Engineer: Andrew Boyd, Brandon Wood, Kaushlesh “Gary” Purohit, Rob Bisel, Sedrick Moore II, Tristan Bott Bass: Bekon Drums: Sounwave Engineer: Charles Brown Jr., James Hunt, Johnathan Turner, Johnny Kosich, Matt Schaeffer Featured Artist: Sampha Keyboards: Bekon Mastering Engineer: Michelle Mancini Mixer: Manny Marroquin Narrator: Whitney Alford Programming: Dahi Rap Vocalist: Kendrick Lamar Studio Personnel: Andrew Boyd, Anthony Vilchis, Brandon Wood, Charles Ray Brown Jr., James Hunt, Johnathan Turner, Johnny Kosich, Kauslesh “Gary” Purohit, Manny Marroquin, Matt Schaeffer, Michelle Mancini, Rob Bisel, Sedrick Moore II, Trey Station, Tristan Bott, Zach Pereyra Vocalist: Sampha Producer: Dahi, Sounwave, franO Composer: A. Thomas, D Dennis, D. Natche, Frano Huette, G. Jackson, Kendrick Lamar, M. Hall, M. Spears, Sam Dew A&R: Brock Korsan, Kevin Rodriguex for pgLang A&R Coordinator: Juanita “Niya” morton for pgLang Assistant Mixer: Anthony Vilchis, Trey Station, Zach Pereyra Associated Performer: Dahi, Kendrick Lamar, Sam Dew, Sounwave, franO Assistant Recording Engineer: Andrew Boyd Background Vocalist: Sam Dew Bass: Dahi Drums: Sounwave Engineer: Johnathan Turner, Ray Charles Brown Jr. Keyboards: franO Mastering Engineer: Michelle Mancini Mixer: Manny Marroquin Percussion: Dahi Programming: Dahi, franO Rap Vocalist: Kendrick Lamar Studio Personnel: Andrew Boyd, Anthony Vilchis, Johnathan Turner, Manny Marroquin, Michelle Mancini, Ray Charles Brown Jr., Trey Station, Zach Pereyra Producer: J.LBS, Sounwave, Tae Beast Composer: Donte Lamar Perkins, J. Pounds, Kendrick Lamar, M. Spears, P. Darnell, Sam Dw, V. Crane Lyricist: Donte Lamar Perkins, J. Pounds, Kendrick Lamar, M. Spears, P. Darnell, Sam Dw, V. Crane Additional Producer: J.LBS A&R: Brock Korsan, Kevin Rodriguez for pgLang A&R Coordinator: Juanita “Niya” Morton for pgLang Assistant Mixer: Anthony Vilchis, Trey Station, Zach Pereyra Associated Performer: Kendrick Lamar Assistant Recording Engineer: Andrew Boyd Mastering Engineer: Michelle Mancini Mixer: Manny Marroquin Narrator: Bill K. Kapri Rap Vocalist: Kendrick Lamar Recording Engineer: Johnathan Turner, Matt Schaeffer, Ray Charles Brown Jr. Studio Personnel: Andrew Boyd, Andrew Vilchis, Johnathan Turner, Manny Marroquin, Matt Schaeffer, Michelle Mancini, Ray Charles Brown Jr., Trey Station, Zach Pereyra Producer: Beach Noise, Duval Timothy, J.LBS, OKLAMA, Sounwave, Tim Maxey Composer: Duval Timothy, J. Pounds, Jake Kosich, Johnny Kosich, Kendrick Lamar, M. Spears, Matt Schaeffer, Sam Drew, Tim Maxey Lyricist: Duval Timothy, J. Pounds, Jake Kosich, Johnny Kosich, Kendrick Lamar, M. Spears, Matt Schaeffer, Sam Drew, Tim Maxey Additional Producer: Beach Noise, Tim Maxey A&R: Brock Korsan, Kevin Rodriguez for pgLang A&R Coordinator: Juanita “Niya” Morton for pgLang Assistant Mixer: Anthony Vilchis, Trey Station, Zach Pereyra Associated Performer: Kendrick Lamar Assistant Recording Engineer: Andrew Boyd, Sedrick Moore II Engineer: Jonathan Turner, Johnny Kosich, Matt Schaeffer, Ray Charles Brown Jr. Mastering Engineer: Michelle Mancini Mixer: Manny Marroquin Narrator: Whitney Alford Rap Vocalist: Kendrick Lamar Studio Personnel: Andrew Boyd, Anthony Vilchis, Johnathan Turner, Johnny Kosich, Manny Marroquin, Matt Schaeffer, Michelle Mancini, Ray Charles Brown Jr., SEdrick Moore II, Trey Station, Zach Pereyra In the background, a woman sits on an unmade bed holding a baby. Historically, Lamar has shared these tracks as a prelude to a bigger project. Producer: Boi-1da, Hykeem Carter, Jahaan Sweet, Sounwave Composer: Hykeem Carter, Jahaan Akil Sweet, Kendrick Lamar, M. Spears, Matthew Samuels, Sam Drew Lyricist: Hykeem Carter, Jahaan Akil Sweet, Kendrick Lamar, M. Spears, Matthew Samuels, Sam Drew Additional Producer: Hykeem Carter A&R: Brock Korsan, Kevin Rodriguez for pgLang A&R Coordinator: Juanita “Niya” Morton for pgLang Assistant Mixer: Anthony Vilchis, Trey Station, Zach Pereyra Associated Performer: Kendrick Lamar Assistant Recording Engineer: Andrew Boyd, Sedrick Moore II Engineer: Matt Schaeffer Mixer: Manny Marroquin Rap Vocalist: Kendrick Lamar Studio Personnel: Andrew Boyd, Anthony Vilchis, Manny Marroquin, Matt Schaeffer, Sedrick Moore II, Trey Station, Zach Pereyra Two CDs were held on top of the book—one with “Morale” and the other with “Steppers,” each marked as a master copy. “I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years,” he wrote of Top Dawg Entertainment. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers follows his Pulitzer Prize–winning 2017 full-length Damn. At long last, Kendrick Lamar has released his new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, his final album for Top Dawg Entertainment. Lamar officially announced the record last month with a link to his Oklama website, which revealed the LP title and release date. Listen to Kendrick Lamar’s new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers below.

The 18-track album includes guest appearances from Summer Walker, Ghostface Killah, Kodak Black, Sampha, Baby Keem, Beth Gibbons of Portishead and a deeply ...

Produced by Bekon, J.LBS and Sounwave Produced by DJ Dahi, J.LBS, OKLAMA, Sounwave and Tim Maxey Produced by Beach Noise, Boi-1da, Jahaan Sweet and Sounwave Produced by Beach Noise, DJ Khalil, J.LBS and Sounwave Produced by DJ Dahi, Sounwave and franO Produced by Beach Noise, Bekon, DJ Dahi, Duval Timothy, Sounwave and Victor Ekpo Lamar’s last full-length studio album was 2017’s Grammy-winning “Damn,” which was released just two days before the rap titan headlined Coachella and made him the honoree at Variety’s inaugural Hitmakers event. Produced by DJ Dahi, FNZ, Hykeem Carter, J.LBS and Sounwave Produced by J.LBS, Sounwave and Tae Beast Kendrick Lamar’s fifth solo album, “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” finally arrived on Thursday night — his first full-length in five years. Produced by Beach Noise, Duval Timothy, J.LBS, OKLAMA, Sounwave and Tim Maxey Produced by Boi-1da, Hykeem Carter, Jahaan Sweet and Sounwave

Long before Kendrick Lamar's 'The Heart Part 5,' Godley & Creme's 'Cry' perfected the video face-morph — with 1985 technology.

You never really know what’s going to come out or what’s going to come from it until you put the thing together. Plus, the video fit the track, an example of a piece of music fitting a piece of film to its best effect. He took things to the extreme with the broadcast and all of its real-life bells and whistles. The effect was similar to Lamar’s visual deep fake, especially because you didn’t know what to expect, so it freaked you out. The effect is the same — it’s about what you see on the screen, and not process. My opinion of deep fakes is that it is another example of what the human species does best: screw things up. Figuring out the process, to bring it to fruition … now, it’s more about numbers crunching and pushing buttons, so you lose the physical connection of operating the paddle to get from face to face. Then dissolving, which was OK. Then we messed around with the studio’s not-so-sophisticated equipment and found this effect used for bad titles on television programs: the wipe, which allowed you to move from one image to another, from the middle out to top, bottom, or left to right. It used to be used to just take you slowly from one image to the next, different image. As we went from one face to the next, we realized that, in between, you got a face that didn’t exist: One came into being which previously had not been there. Godley recently published an autobiography, “Spacecake,” released his solo debut, “Muscle Memory” (and is currently working on another), and just dropped an album of his pre-10cc work with “Frabjous Days 1967-1969.” Variety caught up with him from his home in Ireland to talk about all of the above. We figured that, since “Cry” was the type of song anyone could understand and sing, we’d get a lot of different people and shoot close-ups of their faces.

Kendrick Lamar's new album, “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.” It's his first in five years. It follows “The Heart Pt. 5,” which he released earlier this week ...

While Rihanna is unfortunately not featured on the album, Lamar collaborated with several artists for the first time like Blxst, Amanda Reifer, Sampha, Taylour Paige, Summer Walker, Ghostface Killah, Kodak Black, Sam Dew, Tanna Leone, and Beth Gibbons. Baby Keem is the only person on the double album that has worked with him as a feature previously on “family ties” and “range brothers.” Lamar also samples Florence Welch in “We Cry Together,” giving her writing credit on the track and mixing her vocals with Paige. One song not on the album is “The Heart Pt. 5,” which K.Dot released earlier this week as the first taste of his Mr. Morale era, with one big step for man: a deepfake-filled video. For now, the new Kendrick album you’ve waited over five years for is here. Kendrick Lamar released his first album in over five years, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. As Lamar previously teased on his website, oklama.com, Mr. Morale is a double album with eighteen tracks.

The 18-track album features an eclectic mix of guests, including Ghostface Killah, Portishead's Beth Gibbons, Kodak Black, Summer Walker and Sampha.

Days before the release, Lamar posted its cover art, featuring fiancée Whitney Alford and him holding their two children, with Lamar in a bejeweled crown of thorns. Last month, Lamar also made a Coachella cameo with his cousin, Baby Keem, to perform their track “Family Ties,” which won a Grammy earlier this year. Lamar previously announced on his cryptic website, Oklama, that he will be starting a new company, pgLang, with former TDE executive Dave Free. Lamar works with several favorite producers such as Sounwave and Boi-1da on “Mr. Morale,” but the three-man team of Beach Noise — Matt Schaeffer, Johnny Kosich and Jake Kosich — are the breakout producers on this LP. They’re all over Baby Keem’s “The Melodic Blue” and produced “The Heart Part 5,” and their work is the centerpiece of new Lamar tracks such as “ United in Grief,” the brooding “ Silent Hill” and “ Auntie Diaries.” Expect them to enter the production A-List with this LP. Kendrick Lamar’s new album “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” is both a return to form and the end of an era. The LP, Lamar’s fifth studio album, is his first new record after winning a Pulitzer Prize for 2017’s “Damn.” (though he gave nearly an album’s worth of work to the “Black Panther” soundtrack). It comes four months after Lamar performed at the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood alongside his mentor Dr. Dre in a Compton-themed set.

After a five-year wait, Kendrick Lamar dropped the double album, "Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers," a musical odyssey that stays true to his intensity.

“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. As Lamar intones “I choose me, I’m sorry,” with a shrug in his voice, it’s apparent that he’s not apologizing, but, rather, continuing his journey to look at his reflection without remorse. “This the kind of (expletive) that couples do?” wonders Lamar. Paige’s script, meanwhile, includes the verbal grenade, “You’re the reason R. Kelly can’t recognize that he’s abusive.” Lamar also alludes to his lengthy absence between new releases: “Writer’s block for two years, nothin’ moved me/Asked God to speak through me, that’s what you’re hearing now.” “Count Me Out”: The first song on the “Mr. Morale” section of the album finds Lamar grappling with the contradictions in his head (“I care too much, wanna share too much/ In my head too much, I shut down too”) and nodding to the pandemic while also remaining reflective (“Masks on the babies, mask on an opp/ Wear masks in the neighborhood stores when you shop/ But a mask won’t hide who you are inside”). But Lamar, 34, never cedes the spotlight – as he shouldn’t – on what will rightfully be considered his musical opus.