Kendrick Lamer reached the top of the Billboard 200 last week, with his new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. It is the album’s first week on the chart.
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is Lamar’s 5th studio album, debuting at the top of the US Billboard 200 last week. It is the rapper’s first album since 2017 and has been met with critical acclaim. The last album Lamar is the widely successful soundtrack to the blockbuster “Black Panther”.
The album is eclectic in its musical genre. There are 18 hip-hop songs on the album, also featuring funk, jazz, blues, quiet storm, and soul elements. What links all of these genres together is the masterful and singular wordplays delivered by Lamar himself.
Throughout the album, Lamar explores the trauma of the black experience by looking at the family life during the pandemic. The album’s cover beautifully illustrates it as it shows Lamar in a crown of thorns holding a child. It features a woman also carrying a child in the background.
The song Auntie Diaries also explores his own experience while focusing on a subject that has been very much on our minds recently, as he talks about trans family members.
He deals with societal issues centering around the black community in America; which resonates perhaps more than ever these weeks, after the recent shooting in Buffalo, New York. It is an introspective album as Lamar reflects on his own struggles, uncertainties, and beliefs. This album is a storytelling tour de force, but we wouldn’t expect less from the creator of “Damn”, which had won the Pulitzer Prize.
Lamar manages to tackle the chaos of the society surrounding him and the similar chaos within his soul – where he seeks amends for our world and himself.
With Lamar’s talent and previous track record, it is no surprise to see this album leading the charts. Unfortunately, the recent events in America might also explain how it is resonating with the audience. Anyone listening to Lamar’s music right now can find some comfort in it.
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