Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers

Plot Summary: This album by Kendrick Lamar is a special album that is at least semi-autobiographical. It explores Lamar’s experiences and journey while he was in therapy. He writes and raps about a variety of subjects that come together to create a concise arch to the album. Personal themes that Kendrick Lamar examines in the album includes his childhood, family trauma, sex, addiction, gender identity, cancel culture, and activism. “Auntie Diaries” explores his experience with a transgender relative. This song was both lauded and criticized by the LGBTQ community because while it calls attention to hardships felt by transgender individuals, he also deadnames his relative and some celebrities in the lyrics. He also uses a gay slur in the song. (Lamar, 2022).

Author Background: Kendrick Lamar was born and raised in Compton, California. He started writing lyrics in an attempt to deal with the reality of living in a rough neighborhood. He became aquainted with hi-hop legend Dr. Dre who produced Lamar's first few albums. 2017's Damn became the first rap album to win a Pulitzer Prize (Biography.com, 2019).

Critical Evaluation for Books and Non-Print Items: Hip-hop albums are some of the best produced and mixed albums in music. Kendrick Lamar executive produced this album with different people helping out on different songs. Instead of heavy beats, many tracks on this album are Kendrick Lamar rapping over piano lines. The piano is played in a quiet jazz style. The songs that do contain sound machines and beatbox tracks are not in your face. Kendrick Lamar’s rapping flow sounds relaxed, but at the same time he can go very quickly when the song and the content requires it (Lamar, 2022). 

To be honest, I don’t listen to very much rap or hip-hop. The last time I paid a lot of attention to it, Eminem had only been on the airwaves for a few years and Lil’ Jon was a new artist. Kendrick Lamar was a good reintroduction. His voice was less forceful than the rappers like Eminem that I remember, but he also is able to express a wide range of emotions in each song. Not all of it was easy to listen to. I did expect some swearing and sexual references. That’s not a problem. The use of a gay slur repeated several times in “Auntie Diaries” was hard to hear even if parts of the song include important subjects that need to be addressed. Throughout the track “We Cry Together,” which is a rap version of an argument he was involved in, the N-word and “bitch” are shouted over and over between Kendrick Lamar and the featured artist Taylour Paige. I’m personally uncomfortable with those words in any context, but being shouted in an angry context was worse. 

Speed-Round Album Talk or Short Album Trailer: A hip-hop album for the ages, hear Kendrick Lamar rap about life and the emotions that come with it on his newest album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers!

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: Some people believe that rap and hip-hop don't count as 'real' music. They think that only art with certain instrumental or vocal ornamentation is music. However, rap and hip-hop have a place in the library because all art forms need a place to be presented to the public. Also, many people object to the content found on rap albums. While it is true that the lyrical content is harsh at times, this is the case because the lyrics represent the real lives of the people who write them. Everyone's experience needs to be represented at libraries.

Reason for Inclusion:  I had heard of Kendrick Lamar, but I had never really listened to him. However, two books that I’ve read for the final project, The Poet X and What I Like About You mentioned characters listening to him. They probably were listening to the 2017 album Damn, but I decided to do his newest album to stay within the date range of 2020 to present.

References

Biography.com (2019, December 17). Kendrick Lamar. Retrieved April 17, 2023. https://www.biography.com/musicians/kendrick-lamar. 

Daily Mail. (2018, June 1). Stay humble! Kendrick Lamar accepts the Pulitzer Prize. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uly-g3IYeuQ. 

Kendrick Lamar. (2022, May 12). Kendrick Lamar- N95. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI383uEwA6Q. 

Kendrick Lamar. (2022, May 12). Kendrick Lamar- Silent hill ft. Kodak Black (official audio). [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00QQWJIFxDA.

Lamar, K. (2022). Mr. Morale & the high steppers. [Album]. PGLang. 

Mallory Grimste, LCSW. (2021, December 16). Starting therapy?? What teens can expect. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aomgeJWO4-M.