After 5 years of waiting Kendrick Lamar has finally dropped his 5th album Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers. Lyrically the album dives into Kendrick’s personal life personified in what appears to be therapy for Kendrick. Uncommon among Kendrick albums, it contains a much different sound than his previous albums with it harboring a more experimental/commercial sound akin to his cousin and frequent collaborator Baby Keem’s debut album The Melodic Blue, along with a diverse feature list containing an unexpected feature from Kodak Black (who has uncredited vocal credits throughout the album), as well as introspective topics that tackle both his personal life and real-world issues (such as Auntie Diaries and Father Time). While some controversy has garnered reasonably for his repeated use of the word faggot as well as his Kodak feature nonetheless it was yet another commercial success for the Compton native. A frequent message throughout the album is Kendrick confessing that he is still healing ang going through shit in his personal life therefore he cannot be the savior of hip-hop he prophesized himself to be. He can only be the man he already was/is.
On the outro, Kendrick promptly leaves a blunt message which serves as both an apology and statement towards his fans wishing them to be independent because of the recent additions to his private life such as his engagement to his fiance Whitney Alford (with whom he spawned 2 kids with) and the management of his new multi-media company pgLang. Contrary to all his previous statements where he claimed to be the savior of hip-hop and the voice of social inequality among black men, Kendrick remained silent about recent events such as quarantine, riots, covid-19, social inequality, and police brutality. This could be somewhat justified because Kendrick has already answered and exclaimed his support for black men and called out the system via his 2015 Album to Pimp a Butterfly, with it’s hit single Alright continuing to be a national anthem and Black Lives Matter call when needed. Kendrick has decided that due to his own personal drama among his family and himself which is spoken about throughout the album such as his Auntie/Uncle and Cousin coming out as transgender, dealing with the trauma of his mom’s abuse, and struggling to conform to toxic masculinity of what is expected of him on top of his fans harboring such high expectations of him. Kendrick has vocally asked his fans to be independent of him and not see him as the savior but merely another man struggling with his own issues that he must address. As such the odds of him being consistent as he was for his previous albums are naturally slim. While it’s unlikely this is his last album he is merely stating that he wishes to put himself before his fans as he has new responsibilities to address and cannot appease his fans and address these responsibilities at the same time.
In a way I believe that Kendrick is helping ushering in a new era and passing his torch to the younger generation. In the past Kendrick has been very consistent and often vocal about real world issues, he also had aspirations to bring back real rap to the modern world. With the release of good kid, m.A.A.d city, To Pimp a Butterfly, and DAMN. Kendrick managed to solidify himself as one of the best lyrical rappers of his time with an unmatched storytelling ability akin to the late 2Pac (Dot’s main inspiration). Alongside other rappers such as Drake, J. Cole, Future, and Nicki Minaj, Kendrick has made significant impact into the genre of rap of 2010s. However in this song it appears that indirectly Kendrick appears to be passing the torch to his younger peers, proteges and those he inspired and expect them to be independent of him and be the best they can be perhaps better than him while also apologizing for not answering their “cries for help”. With new rappers arriving and dominating the decade such as his cousin Baby Keem, Jack Harlow, Lil Nas X, Lil Baby, Cordae, Megan Thee Stallion, & DaBaby as well as old underrated rappers finally getting the prominent mainstream presence they rightfully deserve such as Tyler, the Creator, Anderson .Paak, Lil Durk, Gunna, Vince Staples, Bas, Tierra Whack, and Denzel Curry, Kendrick appears to be giving them the opportunity to be one the Goats of the decade and become as great as they can be and reach the level of success and prominence he had worked hard to achieve.
As fans and fellow musicians, we have to respect his choice to let Kendrick “do him” and be selfish for his own good and take his advice to not rely on those who claim to be saviors such as himself.
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