Re: Album of the day (#7182): Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar

DommeDamian — Mon, 25 May 2026 09:25:20 GMT

Author: DommeDamian

Posted: 05/25/2026 13:25

Horrifically messy, trash album.

Re: Album of the day (#7182): Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar

HoldenM — Sun, 24 May 2026 22:27:38 GMT

Author: HoldenM

Posted: 05/25/2026 02:27

Kendrick's messiest album in some ways but still great.

Track picks
1. United In Grief
4. Die Hard (Feat. Blxst & Amanda Reifer)
8. We Cry Together (Feat. Taylour Paige)
9. Purple Hearts (Feat. Summer Walker & Ghostface Killah)
17. Mother I Sober (Feat. Beth Gibbons)
18. Mirror

Album of the day (#7182): Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar

BestEverAlbums — Sun, 24 May 2026 16:00:26 GMT

Author: BestEverAlbums

Posted: 05/24/2026 20:00

Today's album of the day

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar (View album | Buy this album)

Year: 2022.
Country:
Kendrick Lamar discography rank: 4 (out of 10 listed on BEA)
2022 rank: 3
2020s rank: 8
Overall rank: 557
Average rating: 81/100 (from 459 votes).

Tracks:
1. United In Grief
2. N95
3. Worldwide Steppers
4. Die Hard (Feat. Blxst & Amanda Reifer)
5. Father Time (Feat. Sampha)
6. Rich (Interlude)
7. Rich Spirit
8. We Cry Together (Feat. Taylour Paige)
9. Purple Hearts (Feat. Summer Walker & Ghostface Killah)
10. Count Me Out
11. Crown
12. Silent Hill (Feat. Kodak Black)
13. Savior (Interlude)
14. Savior (Feat. Baby Keem & Sam Dew)
15. Auntie Diaries
16. Mr. Morale (Feat. Tanna Leone)
17. Mother I Sober (Feat. Beth Gibbons)
18. Mirror

indicates a top-rated track.

Top voted comments:

"I don't comment on here too often but really wanted to give my opinion on Auntie Diaries and some first impressions of the album. Obviously can't speak for any other trans or queer people but there's so much I love about Auntie Diaries and I think it tackles ideas around prejudice, tolerance and acceptance so well. I've seen some criticism of Kendrick using misgendering and deadnaming* from people who still see the positive intent of the track but I think these are actually vital to getting his point across. A lot of the song comes from a place of tolerating but not understanding the trans people in his life. Saying 'my auntie was a man now, we cool with it' gets across a kind of acceptance but the misgendering in this line and in the verses show that his uncle still isn't being seen as who he really is. The final verse changes this. When push comes to shove and Kendrick is forced to challenge this mindset he doesn't just tolerate his cousin, he accepts her. There's a deeper understanding from this point on. Ending the verse by talking to her directly really gets this new closeness across.

Through transition I've been scared of people not accepting me at all but I've also been scared of people accepting me as a surface level thing. Like they're being polite and playing along instead of seeing me for who I am. It often starts that way with people but after some time you see a shift from tolerance to acceptance in the way Kendrick's last verse describes. Without the uncomfortable moments in the track, it wouldn't have been able to get across these subtle points at all. If Kendrick had written a track just about how proud he was of the trans people he knew it would be nice and all, but it wouldn't really get to a deeper level, challenge the listener or keep within the themes of the record.

The record as a whole is very dense and I'll have to give it a few listens before I can form anything like a full opinion but some stuff has stood out on first listen. Most tracks here are really good but a couple didn't do much for me, I think a bit of an edit could have made things a bit more focussed. I really appreciate the lyrical themes of breaking destructive cycles through forgiveness and mutual understanding. The individual songs build to this brilliantly but Kendrick making a point of including Kodak Black on the album hinders this message, I think his inclusion here is a mistake. Mother I Sober is one of Kendrick's best songs and shows that he is a one of a kind artist. I'm really looking forward to going back over this and seeing how much reveals itself on repeat listens.

* I do wish he hadn't deadnamed Caitlin Jenner though. He knew the other people who were deadnamed in the song and probably had their blessing before releasing it, this won't have been the case with Caitlin. Deadnaming her felt very unnecessary."
- JamesMowbray (Rating: 80/100)
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"This is such a brutally honest and personal record. This whole album feels like a therapy session the way Kendrick so openly discusses his personal demons and traumas. It's simultaneously his darkest and his most uplifting album yet. While I don't think it's perfect, it think it was certainly worth the five year wait."
- JamieJonesWoah (Rating: 95/100)
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About album of the day: The BestEverAlbums.com album of the day is the album appearing most prominently in member charts in the previous 24 hours. If an album, or artist, has previously been selected within a x day period, the next highest album is picked instead (and so on) to ensure a bit of variety. A full history of album of the day can be viewed here.

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Re: Album of the day (#7182): Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar

Re: Album of the day (#7182): Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar

Album of the day (#7182): Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar