Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar Expresses His Confusion At Drake And Kanye West’s Reunion On His New Album

by

The turnover from autumn to winter last year saw Drake and Kanye West apparently set aside their longstanding differences. It was a surprising time for many who had been paying attention to the many chapters of their relationship, as it all seemed to happen so fast. The two hip-hop heavyweights quickly agreed to perform at the LA Coliseum in a concert dedicated to Larry Hoover and appeared like the best of friends on stage, sharing high fives, side hugs, and covers of each other’s songs. Among the many confused was Grammy-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar, though it was more personal for him.

On the new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, K Dot’s first solo LP since 2017’s Damn, he addresses the reunion and what it reveals about his own maturity as a man. “When Kanye got back with Drake, I was slightly confused / Guess I’m not as mature as I think, got some healin’ to do,” he says on “Father Time,” which features Sampha.

Drake and West threw jabs at one another for years but their bubbling tension reached its peak in 2018, when Ye produced Pusha T’s Daytona album, which included “Infrared,” a shot at the 6 God for his ghostwriting allegations, among other things. Drake replied on the very same day with “Duppy Freestyle,” a two-birds kind of approach that fired back at both of them. What would ensue from there is Pusha responding with “The Story Of Adidon,” revealing to the world that Drake has a son, and a lot more subtle shots over the years between the three until this past year.

Listen to “Father Time” above.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is out now via PgLang/TDE/Aftermath/Interscope. Get it here.

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers’ Album Is Here

by
kendrick

The wait is over! After a five-year hiatus, Kendrick Lamar has finally delivered the album. Overnight K.Dot dropped his fifth studio album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, and the Compton emcee delivered a double disc complied with a classic Kendrick.

Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers is a 18-track album features, Kodack Black Summer Walker, Ghostface Killah, Thundercat, Baby Keem, Sampha, Sam Dew, Tanna Leone, Taylour Paige, Blxst, Amanda Reifer and the English singer and songwriter Beth Gibbons.

The production on his album is next level as well. Oklama, Sounwave, J.LBS, Duval Timothy, Beach Noise, Tim Maxey, Jaheen Sweet, Boi-1da, Baby Keem, Tae Beat, Dahi, FNZ, Bekon, Victor Ekpo, Frano, DJ Khalil, Cardo, Mario Luciano, Rascal, the Donuts, Craig Balmoris, Sergiu Gherman, Tyler Mehlenbacher, The Alchemist, and  Pharrell all have production credits on Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Even with the long time off from the rap game, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers is still projected to be another successful body of work. If history repeats itself, this will be K.Dot’s fourth consecutive No.1 album. To Pimp a Butterfly, Untitled Unmastered and DAMN all reached No.1 the Billboard 200.

Since 2017, Lamar has appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart 50 times, with eight top 10 entries and two No. 1 hits. He also won seven Grammys and the Pulitzer Prize for music.

Kendrick’s peers respect his confidence and his competitive nature. Before the album even dropped, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers was in high demand from some notable names of the culture. His fellow Compton native Roddy Ricch called Kendrick the “Compton Jesus” for delivering this album.  

Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers is Kendrick’s last album under Top Dawg Entertainment. Check it out below.

The post Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers’ Album Is Here appeared first on The Source.

Kendrick Lamar Gets Praise For His Support Of The Trans Community On ‘Auntie Diaries’

by

On the new Kendrick Lamar album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, the rapper addresses a lot of topics. One track in particular that’s starting a lot of conversations among fans online is “Auntie Diaries,” on which Lamar raps about a couple of transsexual characters.

Twitter users were quick to praise the song, with one writing, “Auntie Diaries is the first song in major support of the trans community from a rap artist as big as Kendrick and I can’t voice how happy I am for it.” Another, journalist Khari Thompson, also wrote, “Yo ‘Auntie Diaries’ could be some REAL barrier-breaking stuff in hip-hop. Kendrick talking openly about his aunt and cousin transitioning and ‘choosing humanity over religion.’” Another user added, “Kendrick Lamar dropped Auntie Diaries, a song about trans acceptance & intersectionality, while conservatives across the country are pushing a full on assault on all LGBTQIA+ people & their allies. He didn’t have to do this – he’ll probably get sh*t for it – but he did. Powerful.”

Others addressed Lamar’s use of a homosexual slur with a line referencing how commonplace saying it used to be: “Back when it was comedic relief to say ‘f*****’ / f*****, f***** f*****, we ain’t know no better / Elementary kids with no filter however.” In response to those who apparently took exception to the lyrics, fans insist detractors are missing the point.

Listen to “Auntie Diaries” above and check out some more reactions to the song below.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is out now via PgLang/TDE/Aftermath/Interscope. Get it here.

Top Dawg President Punch Congratulates Kendrick Lamar On His Final TDE Album, ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’

by
Kendrick Lamar 60th Annual Grammy Awards 2018
Getty Image

Today is both a joyous and sad day for Top Dawg Entertainment: Kendrick Lamar released the feverishly anticipated Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, but as he declared back in August 2021, it is his final album for the label. TDE had been his label home since the mid-2000s, back when he was releasing music as K.Dot and years before his 2011 debut Kendrick Lamar album, Section.80. Now, though, Lamar is moving on, and TDE president Terrence Louis Henderson Jr. (better known as Punch) seems to have no hard feelings about it.

This morning, Punch shared a quick social media post about the album, writing, “Shout out to Kendrick Lamar and co… congrats on the new album. Last one on TDE. We made history! Much love and continued success. [folded hands emoji].”

TDE founder Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith expressed a similar sentiment last summer, writing, “With this being Dot’s last album on TDE, this is more of a VICTORY LAP, a celebration. I know he will be successful in whatever it is he decides to do and will have our FULL support. As for Top Dawg Entertainment, we will continue to grow, develop, and give artists the platform to expand into whatever way they choose. Heart, honor, respect.”

Kendrick Lamar’s Sneaker Collaborations Searches Surge Over 1000%

by
Kendrick Lamar to Make First Album Appearance of 2020 On Busta Rhymes 'ELE2'

Kendrick Lamar’s new album is now available. Before the release, Kendrick announced the new pgLang x Converse collaboration, which instantly sold out.

From the last week of April to the first week of May, searches for pgLang increased by 1276 percent, according to eBay data.

The popular Nike Cortez collaborations with Kendrick Lamar also experienced renewed interest, with searches for the Cortez Kenny 1 up 25% and the Cortez Kenny 2 up 75% in the first week of May.

You can see the most-popular Kendrick Lamar sneakers below, including the new sold-out Converses.

image001 2

1. Kendrick Lamar pgLang for Converse Chuck 70 High Tops – shop HERE on eBay.

2. Nike Cortez X Kendrick Lamar Basic Slip – shop HERE on eBay.

3. Reebok X Kendrick Lamar Ventilator – shop HERE on eBay.

4. Nike Cortez Kenny 1 Kendrick Lamar Damn White Gym Red – shop HERE on eBay.

The post Kendrick Lamar’s Sneaker Collaborations Searches Surge Over 1000% appeared first on The Source.

Kodak Black Is All Over Kendrick Lamar’s New Album ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ And People Have Thoughts

by
kodak black
Getty Image

As expected, Kendrick Lamar’s fifth album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers arrived on Friday night. What was unexpected is the music, content, and some of the guest appearances found throughout the project’s 18 songs. Features from the likes of rap legend Ghostface Killah, fellow West Coaster Blxst, cousin and frequent collaborator as-of-late Baby Keem, and PgLang labelmate Tanna Leone were the expected or not-so-surprising contributors to the album. However, appearances from the likes of Summer Walker may have been a bit shocking, but none more than the multiple appearances that Kodak Black made on Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.

Kodak Black can be found on three songs from Kendrick’s new album: “Worldwide Steppers,” “Rich (Interlude),” and “Savior.” On “Worldwide Steppers,” which caused some reactions for its own separate reasons, Kodak offers a quick introduction. On “Rich (Interlude),” he delivers a spoken word over sporadic piano keys. Finally, on “Silent Hill,” he steps in for a rap verse after Kendrick delivers one of his own.

Considering Kendrick’s high and practically unblemished status in music and Kodak’s past filled with controversial statements, sexual assault accusations, and run-ins with the law, the rappers’ collaborations on the album had a lot of people talking. Fans of Kodak were excited to see him stand in a bigger spotlight while others were not too pleased with one, never mind three appearances from him on the album.

You can hear the three songs that Kodak Black appears on in the videos above and check for comments from fans below.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is out now via PgLang/TDE/Aftermath/Interscope. You can stream it here.

Kodak Black is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Worldwide Steppers’ Left Fans Perturbed As He Oddly Confessed To Having Sex With White Women

by
Kendrick-Lamar.jpg
Philip Cosores

The five-year drought for a new album from Kendrick Lamar came to an end tonight as he returned with Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. The project was made available with 18 songs and features from Blxst, Amand Reifer, Sampha, Taylour Paige, Summer Walker, Ghostface Killah, Kodak Black, Baby Keem, Sam Dew, Tanna Leone, and Beth Gibbons of Portishead. While the music world was impressed and pumped with excitement after Kendrick prefaced the project with “The Heart Part 5,” the actual music on Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers couldn’t be more of the opposite. An example comes on “Worldwide Steppers.”

The track is a two-part effort, and in the first half of the song, Kendrick unloads a spiraling and erratic confession about the first and second times he had sex with a white woman. He raps, “The first time I f*cked a white b*tch, I was sixteen at the Palisades, fumblin’ my grades.” Later in that verse, he adds, “Next time I f*cked a white b*tch, was out in Copenhagen / Good Kid, M.A.A.D City tour, I flourished on them stages.” He continues by mentioning his longtime partner Whitney Alford. “Whitney asked did I have a problem,” he raps. “I said, ‘I might be racist’ / Ancestors watchin’ me f*ck was like retaliation.”

The entire verse was jarring to say the least, as were other moments on the album. Fans felt the same way and they took to Twitter to share their thoughts.

You can listen to “Worldwide Steppers” in the video above and see comments from fans about the song below.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is out now via PgLang/TDE/Aftermath/Interscope. You can stream it here.

Kodak Black is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.