Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, an 18-track album written by Kendrick Lamar, with co-producers including Sounwave, J. Lbs, Dj Dahi, and Bekon was released on May 13, 2022. It is Lamar’s most recent project since his collaboration on the 2018 Black Panther soundtrack and showcases changes in his flow highlighting his evolution as a modern artist. 

The album features multiple influential artists including Ghostface, Summer Walker, Kodak Black, Taylour Paige, and his own cousin, Baby Keem. Throughout the album, Lamar connects with personal topics include his experiences with trauma and therapy.  The two-parts of the collection reflect on different aspects of Kendricks’s life such as money, his father, gender, loyalty, and relationships. The first half is him as Mr. Morale which is the version of Kendrick with morals and speaks about his personal life at home while the second half is him as the Big Steppers which talks about money and what is going on in today’s world. Kendrick targets his audience through offering his unique perspective on society, guiding them to reflect on who they are. The thematic relevance proves Kendrick isn’t only a rapper, but an author.

A song listeners might connect to is “Father Time” featuring Sampha, a song where Kendrick and Sampha speak on the absence of a male role model in the household and the effect it has left on Kendrick. Kendrick touches on how it has effected his mental health and does not feel understood.

Overall, Kendrick Lamar executed a great piece of art with this album, not only giving music listeners something they can listen to, but also something they can learn from. An album mostly for those who look more into the deeper side of music. Even though Kendrick left fans with a good album, it is not one of his greatest, which lands this album with a rating of a 7/10.