Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers

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

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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

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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’

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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’

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Kendrick Lamar 60th Annual Grammy Awards 2018
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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.”

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

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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

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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.

Kendrick Lamar Releases ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers,’ Ending A Five-Year Wait For A New Album

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The music world has missed Kendrick Lamar. Sure, we’ve been doing alright with various releases from the industry’s heavyweights like J. Cole, Drake, Kanye West, Young Thug, Future, Taylor Swift, and more, as well as newcomers who have provided something new and refreshing to the world. Prior to last fall, Adele was seemingly the long superstar who went longer than Kendrick without a new album, but even she returned in November with 30. Ever since Kendrick stamped himself as not only the next great rapper but the next great artist overall, his full-length releases grab the attention of the world and it’s something that will happen again with his newly-released long-awaited fifth album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.

There are a few things to keep in mind with Kendrick’s new album, which was prefaced by the impressive “The Heart Part 5.” Aside from what the project adds to his undeniable legacy, it will also be his last official release on Top Dawg Entertainment, a label he’s called home since 2004. There’s no telling what Kendrick’s next step will be, heck, it took us over four years to find out what it would be following Damn. One thing we do know is that Kendrick’s journey will most likely continue under PgLang, a creative agency that he founded with his longtime partner and former TDE co-president Dave Free. PgLang is also home to Baby Keem and newly-signed act Tanna Leone.

But enough about the future, let’s enjoy the present. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is out now and there will mostly be so much to enjoy with it. It arrives 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. So grab a pair of headphones or turn on your speakers, and press play on an album that many of us have waited a long time to hear.

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

The Cover Art For Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ Unlocks Some Unknowns About The Rapper

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This Friday, the most anticipated album in the world is coming out: Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. Lamar has been dropping hints every step of the way in the lead-up, including a recently posted image of two CDs, indicating that the album might very well be a double album. On Sunday, we were introduced to the album’s first single, “The Heart Part 5,” along with its eye-popping video. Now, Kendrick has posted what appears to be the album cover artwork.

Posted to both his social media platforms, as well as showing up as a new icon on the oklama.com website where every update in the Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers lead up has been posted, the cover photograph might very well be the first time we’ve seen the “Alright” rapper picture with his two children. He wears a christ-like crown of thorns and holds his three-year-old daughter while his fiancée nurses a newborn child on a bed in the background.

This is interesting because Kendrick is famously private about his personal life. In fact, it has only been known that he and Alford have one daughter, so the second child in the background would be a new addition to the family that the world previously did not know about. Regardless, the album is out in two days and everyone is on the edge of their seat.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers will be out on Friday 05/13 via TDE Records.

Pusha T Wanted To Reunite With Kendrick Lamar On ‘It’s Almost Dry’

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Pusha T reached a milestone this past week, with It’s Almost Dry going No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. In a recent interview with GQ, readers learned that the G.O.O.D Music President was looking to lyrically spar with a fellow chart-topper by the name of Kendrick Lamar on the album.

Having previously worked together on 2013’s fan-favorite “Nosetalgia,” this would surely be a welcome reunion for supporters of both. Unfortunately, the impact of “Nosetalgia” lead to this potential collaboration’s undoing as Push said he “couldn’t find a song that differed enough.” Clearly, Pusha T isn’t too torn up about it, riding a huge wave of momentum and soaking in all the positivity from those who have heard his album. He put out a post on Instagram this past week thanking all who were involved.

Luckily, Kendrick Lamar fans won’t have to wait much longer for new K Dot music either as he is set to release Mr. Morale And The Big Steppers, his final TDE album, on May 13. There is currently no single, tracklist, or inkling of who will appear on the album. The rumors of it being a rock-influenced album haven’t been revisited either, so this is truly a game of wait and see.

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ Might Be A Double Album

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For the past six months, rap fans have been forced to speculate about Kendrick Lamar’s upcoming final album under his Top Dawg Entertainment contract, with little concrete information about the project (other than its elaborate title) to go on. Today though, Kendrick dropped another cryptic clue about Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, suggesting that it might be a double album. Fans checking in on the website he set up to promote the album, oklama.com, found a new folder to click on, leading to an image of a pair of CDs marked “Morale” and “Steppers” bearing the legend “Master Copy” on each along with a hardcover book bearing the album’s title.

Anyone who’s burned a mix CD in their lifetime (so basically anyone born before the year 1996) knows that CDs contain around 74 minutes of space or around 21 tracks. Obviously, most CDs never used the full capacity, but to go over that time limit (or even inching too close to it) meant separating the songs across two discs. Now, I’m not saying that this means Kendrick’s next album is going to be the length of a Marvel movie, but we should probably expect a longer project. It’s also projected to pull down huge numbers — as befits Kung-Fu Kenny’s swan song for the label that has developed his career for the past decade and a half.

As Kendrick inches closer to its release date (the only other solid bit of information we have right now), more details will undoubtedly be revealed at oklama.com. Until then, the speculation continues.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is due on May 13 on TDE and Interscope.