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Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers arrived Friday (May 13) with almost no promotion. No tracklist was leaked, none of the music from the album was revealed, no performances were streamed or televised. Aside from the initial public announcement of the record’s release through a PG Lang office brief tweeted by the rapper and a music video for his routine pre-album statement in “The Heart Part V,” Lamar has skipped the customary circuit that normally takes an artist months to undergo. Even when compared to the lead into and after his last record, 2017’s DAMN. which saw the release of his mega-single “Humble” top the billboard before the album’s debut, its video go viral, a Coachella performance widely seen the Sunday after, and a tour announced the next morning, MMATBS has created comparable anticipation purely based on the gravitas Lamar holds as one of the defining artists of our times. The album simply showed up on our streaming platforms containing no obvious singles and just 12 hours later The Big Steppers Tour was announced.
Chances are, you were up late last night digesting the album to the finish line at 1:13 AM still unpacking the deeply cathartic and personal subject matter.
The reputation and volatility of Black Male behaviour are at the center of the album as predicated by “The Heart Part V” in which Kendrick transforms into Nipsey Hussle, Kanye West, Kobe Bryant, Will Smith, and OJ Simpson, figures who range from tragic to erratic to upsetting. Aside from his own mistakes, Kendrick alludes to the Drake and Kanye allegiance last December on “Father Time” which he found surprising as well as the anti-vax status of divisive Brooklyn Nets Guard Kyrie Irving: “See the Christians say the vaccine the mark of the beast/Then he caught Covid and prayed to Pfizer for relief/Then I caught Covid and started to question Kyrie.” Another highlight pulls actress Taylour Paige for a performative fight on the Florence and the Machine-sampling “We Cry Together.”
The album’s second disc becomes increasingly confessional. Kendrick normally viewed as a bright prophetic hope within the contemporarily debaucherous hip hop landscape portrays himself as someone who is being urged to seek help for sex addiction, trying to work through the guilt of sleeping with White women, and battling sex addiction amidst detailed affairs committed to his longtime partner Whitney Alford with whom Lamar shares two children. “Auntie Diaries” sees Lamar discussing the gender transitions of two of his family members, regretting his former exclusionary actions and connecting his new beliefs to his evolving maturity.
Kendrick Lamar will play 65 dates throughout North America, Europe, and Australia later this year with double nights booked for London, Toronto, L.A., Oakland, and Brooklyn. He’s bringing on his cousin Baby Keem and PG Lang artist Tanna Leone for support. Check out the dates below and by god go listen to this album.
07-19 Oklahoma City, OK - Paycom Center
07-21 Austin, TX - Moody Center
07-22 Houston, TX - Toyota Center
07-23 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
07-24 Miami, FL - Rolling Loud
07-27 Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena
07-29 New Orleans, LA - Smoothie King Center
07-30 Atlanta, GA - State Farm Arena
07-31 Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
08-02 Charlotte, NC - Spectrum Center
08-04 Washington, D.C. - Capital One Arena
08-05 Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center
08-06 Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center
08-07 Long Island, NY - UBS Arena
08-09 Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center
08-10 Boston, MA - TD Garden
08-12 Toronto, Ontario - Scotiabank Arena
08-13 Toronto, Ontario - Scotiabank Arena
08-14 Detroit, MI - Little Caesars Arena
08-16 Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center
08-18 Milwaukee, WI - Fiserv Forum
08-19 Chicago, IL - United Center
08-20 Saint Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
08-21 Kansas City, MO - T-Mobile Center
08-23 Denver, CO - Ball Arena
08-24 Salt Lake City, UT - Vivint Smart Home Arena
08-26 Portland, OR - Moda Center
08-27 Seattle, WA - Climate Pledge Arena
08-28 Vancouver, British Columbia - Rogers Arena
08-30 Sacramento, CA - Golden 1 Center
08-31 Oakland, CA - Oakland Arena
09-01 Oakland, CA - Oakland Arena
09-06 San Diego, CA - Viejas Arena at San Diego State University
09-07 Anaheim, CA - Honda Center
09-09 Las Vegas, NV - T-Mobile Arena
09-10 Phoenix, AZ - Footprint Center
09-14 Los Angeles, CA - Crypto.com Arena
09-15 Los Angeles, CA - Crypto.com Arena
10-07 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Ziggo Dome
10-10 Prague, Czech Republic - O2 Arena
10-11 Berlin, Germany - Mercedes-Benz Arena
10-13 Hamburg, Germany - Barclays Arena
10-15 Copenhagen, Denmark - Royal Arena
10-17 Stockholm, Sweden - Avicii Arena
10-19 Oslo, Norway - Telenor Arena
10-21 Paris, France - Accor Arena
10-24 Stuttgart, Germany - Scheleyerhalle
10-25 Zurich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion
10-26 Lausanne, Switzerland - Vaudoise Aréna
10-28 Antwerp, Belgium - Sportpaleis
10-30 Cologne, Germany - Lanxess Arena
10-31 Frankfurt, Germany - Festhalle
11-02 Glasgow, Scotland - OVO Hydro
11-03 Leeds, England - First Direct Arena
11-04 Newcastle upon Tyne, England - Utilita Arena
11-05 Birmingham, England - Utilita Arena
11-07 London, England - The O2
11-08 London, England - The O2
11-13 Dublin, Ireland - 3Arena
11-16 Manchester, England - AO Arena
12-01 Perth, Australia - RAC Arena
12-04 Melbourne, Australia - Rod Laver Arena
12-08 Sydney, Australia - Qudos Bank Arena
12-12 Brisbane, Australia - Entertainment Center
12-16 Auckland, New Zealand - Spark Arena
Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers arrived Friday (May 13) with almost no promotion. No tracklist was leaked, none of the music from the album was revealed, no performances were streamed or televised. Aside from the initial public announcement of the record’s release through a PG Lang office brief tweeted by the rapper and a music video for his routine pre-album statement in “The Heart Part V,” Lamar has skipped the customary circuit that normally takes an artist months to undergo. Even when compared to the lead into and after his last record, 2017’s DAMN. which saw the release of his mega-single “Humble” top the billboard before the album’s debut, its video go viral, a Coachella performance widely seen the Sunday after, and a tour announced the next morning, MMATBS has created comparable anticipation purely based on the gravitas Lamar holds as one of the defining artists of our times. The album simply showed up on our streaming platforms containing no obvious singles and just 12 hours later The Big Steppers Tour was announced.
Chances are, you were up late last night digesting the album to the finish line at 1:13 AM still unpacking the deeply cathartic and personal subject matter.
The reputation and volatility of Black Male behaviour are at the center of the album as predicated by “The Heart Part V” in which Kendrick transforms into Nipsey Hussle, Kanye West, Kobe Bryant, Will Smith, and OJ Simpson, figures who range from tragic to erratic to upsetting. Aside from his own mistakes, Kendrick alludes to the Drake and Kanye allegiance last December on “Father Time” which he found surprising as well as the anti-vax status of divisive Brooklyn Nets Guard Kyrie Irving: “See the Christians say the vaccine the mark of the beast/Then he caught Covid and prayed to Pfizer for relief/Then I caught Covid and started to question Kyrie.” Another highlight pulls actress Taylour Paige for a performative fight on the Florence and the Machine-sampling “We Cry Together.”
The album’s second disc becomes increasingly confessional. Kendrick normally viewed as a bright prophetic hope within the contemporarily debaucherous hip hop landscape portrays himself as someone who is being urged to seek help for sex addiction, trying to work through the guilt of sleeping with White women, and battling sex addiction amidst detailed affairs committed to his longtime partner Whitney Alford with whom Lamar shares two children. “Auntie Diaries” sees Lamar discussing the gender transitions of two of his family members, regretting his former exclusionary actions and connecting his new beliefs to his evolving maturity.
Kendrick Lamar will play 65 dates throughout North America, Europe, and Australia later this year with double nights booked for London, Toronto, L.A., Oakland, and Brooklyn. He’s bringing on his cousin Baby Keem and PG Lang artist Tanna Leone for support. Check out the dates below and by god go listen to this album.
07-19 Oklahoma City, OK - Paycom Center
07-21 Austin, TX - Moody Center
07-22 Houston, TX - Toyota Center
07-23 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
07-24 Miami, FL - Rolling Loud
07-27 Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena
07-29 New Orleans, LA - Smoothie King Center
07-30 Atlanta, GA - State Farm Arena
07-31 Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
08-02 Charlotte, NC - Spectrum Center
08-04 Washington, D.C. - Capital One Arena
08-05 Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center
08-06 Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center
08-07 Long Island, NY - UBS Arena
08-09 Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center
08-10 Boston, MA - TD Garden
08-12 Toronto, Ontario - Scotiabank Arena
08-13 Toronto, Ontario - Scotiabank Arena
08-14 Detroit, MI - Little Caesars Arena
08-16 Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center
08-18 Milwaukee, WI - Fiserv Forum
08-19 Chicago, IL - United Center
08-20 Saint Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
08-21 Kansas City, MO - T-Mobile Center
08-23 Denver, CO - Ball Arena
08-24 Salt Lake City, UT - Vivint Smart Home Arena
08-26 Portland, OR - Moda Center
08-27 Seattle, WA - Climate Pledge Arena
08-28 Vancouver, British Columbia - Rogers Arena
08-30 Sacramento, CA - Golden 1 Center
08-31 Oakland, CA - Oakland Arena
09-01 Oakland, CA - Oakland Arena
09-06 San Diego, CA - Viejas Arena at San Diego State University
09-07 Anaheim, CA - Honda Center
09-09 Las Vegas, NV - T-Mobile Arena
09-10 Phoenix, AZ - Footprint Center
09-14 Los Angeles, CA - Crypto.com Arena
09-15 Los Angeles, CA - Crypto.com Arena
10-07 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Ziggo Dome
10-10 Prague, Czech Republic - O2 Arena
10-11 Berlin, Germany - Mercedes-Benz Arena
10-13 Hamburg, Germany - Barclays Arena
10-15 Copenhagen, Denmark - Royal Arena
10-17 Stockholm, Sweden - Avicii Arena
10-19 Oslo, Norway - Telenor Arena
10-21 Paris, France - Accor Arena
10-24 Stuttgart, Germany - Scheleyerhalle
10-25 Zurich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion
10-26 Lausanne, Switzerland - Vaudoise Aréna
10-28 Antwerp, Belgium - Sportpaleis
10-30 Cologne, Germany - Lanxess Arena
10-31 Frankfurt, Germany - Festhalle
11-02 Glasgow, Scotland - OVO Hydro
11-03 Leeds, England - First Direct Arena
11-04 Newcastle upon Tyne, England - Utilita Arena
11-05 Birmingham, England - Utilita Arena
11-07 London, England - The O2
11-08 London, England - The O2
11-13 Dublin, Ireland - 3Arena
11-16 Manchester, England - AO Arena
12-01 Perth, Australia - RAC Arena
12-04 Melbourne, Australia - Rod Laver Arena
12-08 Sydney, Australia - Qudos Bank Arena
12-12 Brisbane, Australia - Entertainment Center
12-16 Auckland, New Zealand - Spark Arena
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