{"id":48642,"date":"2022-05-13T19:04:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-13T18:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/?p=48642"},"modified":"2022-05-16T12:45:23","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T11:45:23","slug":"hip-hops-new-testament-mr-morales-the-big-steppers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/hip-hops-new-testament-mr-morales-the-big-steppers\/","title":{"rendered":"Hip Hop\u2019s New Testament: Mr. Morales & The Big Steppers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ke<\/strong><\/em>ndrick Lamar<\/em>: \u201cAsked God to speak through me, that\u2019s what you hear now the voice of yours truly.\u201d\u00a0(WorldWide Steppers)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hip Hop\u2019s prophet returns in a crown of thorns\u00a0<\/a>to gift his\u00a0New Testament\u00a0<\/em>to his faithful followers. One that foretells a revelation of fatherhood, family, friends and Blackness.\u00a0Kendrick\u2019s Lamar\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>work has always been one of introspection, meditation and reflection, offering a glimpse into the dense and complex mind of\u00a0K.Dot .\u00a0<\/em>He gives us a journey, through therapy, grief and some of the most damaging aspects of masculinity.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Mr. Morales and the Big Steppers<\/em> \u2013 that includes appearances from Summer Walker, Ghostface Killah Baby Keem<\/em> and many more – grants listeners a chance to see a different side of the father of two.  A side that may manifests as delicacy and tenderness. It may feel alienating, something unprecedented, but either way fans are likely to listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lamar is honest in his assessment of his flaws and others like him, to whom this may be directed. For most of the record, it is a cathartic illusion for male improvement, although if it is surrounded by controversy, it will be in Kendrick\u2019s decision to feature the ill-famed Kodak Black<\/em>, who pleaded to assault and battery to a woman in 2016, only last year. Possibly, Lamar intends to hold himself accountable for the company he keeps, on his own accordance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Saviour, where<\/em> he tells the listener to requests too much from artists, Kendrick Lamar says: \u201clike it when they pro-black, but I\u2019m more Kodak Black.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is an ugly and uncomfortable proclamation, even confusing for a reader to listen to. Regardless, Kendrick is not trying to be deity, but rather be a human vessel, one who uses his life encounters as lessons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He chants over and over again: \u201cI can\u2019t please everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Morales and the Big Steppers is Lamar\u2019s most contradictory work yet, it is Lamar at his best and worst laid flat out on the record. Though Kodak Black\u2019s presence calls for criticism, the album is extraordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the we come towards the end of the piece, we experience the mature soul he\u2019s about to become, the apparent misogyny that he clumsily steered on earlier tracks, slowly withers away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lamar<\/em> apologises on the album\u2019s closing track, Mirror<\/em>: \u201cI chose me, I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His apparent decision to step away from music comes punctually, after the countless money, awards and love, and most importantly, his family he has received. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Words: Kira Bruce<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/genius.com\/albums\/Kendrick-lamar\/Mr-morale-the-big-steppers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kendrick Lamar: \u201cAsked God to speak through me, that\u2019s what you hear now the voice of yours truly.\u201d\u00a0(WorldWide Steppers) Hip Hop\u2019s prophet returns in a crown of thorns\u00a0to gift his\u00a0New Testament\u00a0to his faithful followers. One…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":476,"featured_media":48647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-music"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/476"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48642"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48649,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48642\/revisions\/48649"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}