The wait is finally over.
On Friday (May 13), over five years after putting out his Grammy-award winning DAMN. LP, Kendrick Lamar released his new double album titled Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. To the delight of fans everywhere, the Top Dawg Entertainment stalwart has released a new musical anthology that contains 18 songs, 9 songs apiece on each discs. The collection as a whole boasts guest appearances from Blxst, Ghostface Killah, Kodak Black, Baby Keem and more.
Fans have been waiting for this double album with bated breath for a while, as the reclusive Compton, Calif. MC has laid low following DAMN.'s successful release. Late last year, speculation began to circulate that 2020 would be the year that Kung Ku Kenny would return with a new album and tour. In January, rumors came about that the new Kendrick Lamar LP was finished and would contain more rock influence. However, as the months passed, there were no solid signs of a rollout. People started scrambling for answers so hard that there was even a rumor that Kendrick had left his label, which he "Be Humble" rhymer disputed.
In October 2020, Kendrick acknowledged his lengthy album recording process. "I spend the whole year just thinking about how I’m gonna execute a new sound, I can’t do the same thing over and over," he told i-D magazine. "I need something to get me excited. I see you get frustrated sometimes because you want some new shit."
Last August, Kendrick Lamar again broke his silence on the album, revealing it would be his final LP with Top Dawg Ent before he moves on to run his own entity called pgLang.
It would be seven more months before he would officially announce Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers on April 18.
On May 8, K-Dot dropped the video and song for "The Heart, Part 5." In the clip for the track, Kendrick stands in front of a red background delivering his powerful sermon. As he rhymes, his face morphs into polarizing celebrities like OJ Simpson, Kanye West, Jussie Smollett and Will Smith. Near the end of the video, Kendrick morphs into deepfakes of Kobe Bryant and Nipsey Hussle as the brilliant rhymer pays homage to the fallen icons.
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers Tracklist:
1. "United In Grief"
2. "N95"
3. "Worldwide Steppers"
4. "Die Hard" (Featuring Blxst & Amanda Reifer)
5. "Father Time" (Featuring Sampha)
6. "Rich" (Interlude)
7. "Rich Spirit"
8. "We Cry Together" (Featuring Taylour Paige)
9. "Purple Hearts" (Featuring Summer Walker & Ghostface Killah)
Disc 2
1. "Count Me Out"
2. "Crown"
3. "Silent Hill" (Featuring Kodak Black)
4. "Savior" (Interlude)
5. "Savior" (Featuring Baby Keem & Sam Dew)
6. "Auntie Diaries"
7. "Mr. Morale" (Featuring Tanna Leone)
8. "Mother I Sober" (Featuring Beth Gibbons)
9. "Mirror"
Listen to Kendrick Lamar's new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers below.
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