Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar – Culture

Big penises, to put it bluntly, are not as desirable from a female perspective as rappers like to claim. They also make some people unhappy. That’s important here because, as we’ve known since Backseat Freestyle, Pulitzer Prize-winner Kendrick Lamar’s penis is “as big as the Eiffel Tower.” At least that’s what he prayed for in the song, and how could God deny him such a humble wish? Consequently, Kendrick Lamar must be very unhappy, which in turn is our luck, as he works through his unhappiness on his fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Compared to the predecessor “Damn”, Lamar takes the musical pressure three levels back. The sound is more transparent, but also more complicated. Choirs, fidgety breakbeats, marauding violins, Nine inch nails-Piano. He also has Beth Gibbons from Portishead hired whose voice could make even a Tiny Tim song sound sinister. Lamar’s own parts are faster, but you still understand every word. As always, he articulates very clearly, almost with distinction. Pop only appears distorted. Occasionally you ask yourself: is this still a double album, or is it already a very elaborate audio book?

Three tracks stand out when hearing “Mr. Morale” for the first time. The first is “We Cry Together”. Nobody cries in the track. Instead, Kendrick hits us Florence + The machine-Sample to the head, then he and his sparring partner Taylour Paige insult each other mercilessly for about five minutes, but also slowed down, slurry. “Fuck your feelings,” he says.

Neither of them seem angry, they sound more like stunned. He calls her a fake feminist. She says he is personally to blame for his toxic behavior for Trump, Harvey Weinstein and the enslavement of all women.

In “Auntie Diaries,” Lamar confronts his past hatred of trans people

It sounds as if the two have made these accusations against each other before. It also sounds like the abuse came from Twitter, or from parents, or picked up on the street. They are universal and therefore meaningless. Both sexes united in the hopelessness of mutual hatred, with which they actually try to describe the same suffering.

The second song that sticks with you right away is “Auntie Diaries”. In it, Lamar addresses his past hatred of trans people. He tells the story of an aunt who is now a man: “You said ‘Kendrick, ain’t no room for contradiction / To truly understand love, switch position’ / ‘Faggot, faggot, faggot’, we can say it together / But only if you let a white girl say nigga.” It’s a personal song that breaks some of the rules of the LGBTQ community – like not calling trans people by their birth names. Still, it’s clearly a pro-trans song, and the first by a major rapper.

Then there’s “Mother I Sober,” the song featuring Beth Gibbons, the heart of the album. In the raw, soulful track, Lamar recounts childhood trauma, infidelity and sexual abuse, while Gibbon’s voice is both ominously and comfortingly present. “Present”, as if the song weren’t a song, but a walk-in room in which someone reports on their darkest moments. Until the door closes again.

The track ends with a woman’s voice telling a child, “You did it, I’m proud of you / You broke a generational curse,” before the same chorus that started the album wraps up the track.

“Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” is an album that hurts. It’s not easy to hear, not easy to digest, it blocks. Not only in front of the mainstream, but also in front of their own form, their own genre, pop music itself. So should it be avoided? Of course not. It should be handled with care and caution. With respect, a little pity, but without false reverence. Only then can you really enjoy it. Like the Eiffel Tower.