Kendrick Lamar’s new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers has officially been released, much to the delight of hip-hop heads everywhere. Kendrick is one of those artists where time stands still whenever he drops something and as you can imagine, fans are trying to dissect everything he is saying in his new tracks.
One song that has garnered a ton of attention is the track “Auntie Diaries.” In this song, Kendrick raps about a relative who transitioned into a man. He also raps about his cousin who transitioned into a woman and how he had to come to grips with these changes. Kendrick speaks about homophobia and transphobia in the Christian and rap communities, and how he needed to grow as a person in order to accept his family members.
While speaking on his cousin, Kendrick says “I mean he’s really Mary-Ann, even took things further. Changed his gender before Bruce Jenner was certain. Living his truth even if it meant see a surgeon.” From there, Kendrick makes amends with these thoughts by saying “The day I chose humanity over religion the family got closer, it was all forgiven.
So far, Kendrick is receiving widespread praise for his pro-LGBTQ+ song. However, he is receiving quite a bit of criticism from some advocates who claim his gratuitous use of the F-word isn’t doing anything positive for the message of the song. In addition to this, Kendrick has received pushback for using the deadnames of his relatives. Despite these criticisms, most fans believe this is a huge step forward for hip-hop as the game’s biggest artist is coming out in support of trans identity.
Let us know how you felt about the song, in the comments down below.