Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers

Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers is the fifth studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, released on May 13, 2022, by PGLang, Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records. The double album is Lamar’s first studio album release since Damn (2017), his first album release under his creative collective PGLang, and his final project with TDE (under which he released four albums and was one of their flagship artists).

The album features narration by Whitney Alford and Eckhart Tolle, and guest appearances from Blxst, Amanda Reifer, Sampha, Taylour Paige, Summer Walker, Ghostface Killah, Baby Keem, Kodak Black, Sam Dew, Tanna Leone, and Beth Gibbons of Portishead. Lamar, who executive produced the album under the pseudonym Oklama, reunited with frequent collaborators Sounwave, J. Lbs, DJ Dahi, and Bekon for the majority of the album’s production.

Upon release, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers was met with widespread acclaim from critics, who praised Lamar’s lyricism and the album’s scope, although a few found it inconsistent. The album has so far spawned three singles: “N95”, “Silent Hill”, and “Die Hard”. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming Lamar’s fourth US number-one album.