STACK #212 June 2022

MUSIC FEATURE

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Lamar in the clip for single N95 (also header image)

On fifth album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers , the Compton rapper presents an astonishingly dense and considered manifesto on which he explores one subject more deeply than ever before: himself. Words Tim Lambert SELF-INFLICTED, SELF-FULFILLED KENDRICK LAMAR

”I ’ve been goin’ through somethin’/ 1855 days/ I’ve been goin’ through something/ Be afraid,” are the first words we hear on Kendrick Lamar’s new album. It has been, in fact, 1855 days between the release of Lamar's previous studio album – 2017's DAMN. – and this, the Compton-born rapper's triumphant return: Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. The line is a glaring admission that the Pulitzer Prize-winner has a lot to get off his chest. Through his previous releases, Kendrick’s narration on life as a black man in modern America made him an ethical and moral authority – his seminal 2015 hit Alright soundtracked numerous Black Lives Matter protests – while his reclusiveness from the public eye in recent years has amplified that prophetic ideology. MMATBS is welcomed into a world that has endured plenty in the five years since DAMN. While thoughts on a global pandemic, political unrest, #MeToo, racial tensions and police brutality are littered throughout the release, Lamar explores one subject more deeply than he has ever before: himself. You could compare this record to Jay-Z’s

reflective 4:44 , wherein the legendary Brooklyn rapper eloquently laid himself truly bare, for the first time in a lengthy career. The difference here is that the image we're shown in the mirror – which is held up for over an hour and twelve minutes, mind you – isn’t pretty. It’s confronting.

The first: Eckhart Tolle, the German author of spiritual self-help bestsellers The Power of Now and A New Earth . At their core, Tolle’s philosophies say that happiness is found through living in the present, while acknowledging that your upbringing, traumas and unconscious biases are the only thing holding you back from self-actualising. Tolle’s personal relationship with Kendrick sways from muse to therapist, and his teachings are scattered through the album; it often feels like Kendrick is exposing his deepest insecurities to us as a means to learn, release, and truly live in the present. The second, Lamar’s new alias: Oklama. As discussed on The Dissect Podcast , Oklama is a derivate of the Indigenous language of the Choctaw people, translating to “My people” – often used in ancient writing when a prophet was addressing God’s people on the deity's behalf. Lamar is trying to use his platform for mass self-reflection and development. In the text slate at the beginning of pre album single From the Heart Part 5 , Oklama is quoted: “I am. All of us.” It's an important note, contextualising Lamar’s conversation of wider growth. The double album is split into two nine-track

It often feels like Lamar is exposing his deepest insecurities to us as ameans to learn, release, and truly live in the present

There are two inspirations that drive this album conceptually, and lend understanding to Kendrick’s perspective on everything you hear on his final release with Top Dawg Entertainment.

72 JUNE 2022

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