At long last, Kendrick Lamar is back. The era-defining Compton rapper returns today with Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, his fifth studio album and first since 2017’s Pulitzer Prize-winning DAMN. The double LP marks Kendrick’s final project for TDE, the label he signed with as a teenager in 2003.
Mr. Morale arrives four days after Kendrick’s headline-grabbing “The Heart Part 5” single, which doesn’t appear on the album. Across the collection’s 18 tracks—which are divided into two discs—Kendrick welcomes a wide range of guests, including Blxst, Amanda Reifer, Sampha, Taylour Paige, Ghostface Killah, Summer Walker, Kodak Black, and Beth Gibbons of U.K. trip-hop pioneers Portishead. The production roster includes Sounwave, Boi-1DA, Duval Timothy, Pharrell, and OKLAMA, the new alias Kendrick has been using. The elusive MC discussed his creative process for the new album in an August 2021 blog post.
“I spend most of my days with fleeting thoughts,” Lamar wrote. “Writing. Listening. And collecting old Beach cruisers. The morning rides keep me on a hill of silence. I go months without a phone. Love, loss, and grief have disturbed my comfort zone, but the glimmers of God speak through my music and family. While the world around me evolves, I reflect on what matters the most. The life in which my words will land next.”
Disc One
1. “United In Grief”
2. “N95”
3. “Worldwide Steppers”
4. “Die Hard” ft. Blxst and Amanda Reifer
5. “Father Time” ft. Sampha
6. “Rich (Interlude)”
7. “Rich Spirit”
8. “We Cry Together” ft. Taylour Paige
9. “Purple Hearts” ft. Summer Walker and Ghostface Killah
Disc Two
1. “Count Me Out”
2. “Crown”
3. “Silent Hill” ft. Kodak Black
4. “Savior (Interlude)”
5. “Savior” ft. Baby Keem and Sam Dew
6. “Auntie Diaries”
7. “Mr. Morale” ft. Tanna Leone
8. “Mother I Sober” ft. Beth Gibbons
9. “Mirror”
