Keeping Pace With Kendrick Lamar's 'Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers'
This article was published on May 9 and updated on May 13
Anything Kendrick Lamar-related makes the internet go nuts. Between Lamar's Super Bowl 2022 half-time performance and surprise cowboy-booted Coachella appearance with Baby Keem, Kung Fu Kenny's fans are consistently on edge, hoping for just a snippet of fresh music every time resurfaces.
Until recently, those hopes were always dashed, as Lamar would always play the hits and disappear without even humming a new melody.
Don't worry, my friends. New Kendrick is just around the corner, and we're tracking all of the moves made by the Stepper himself leading up to his Mr. Morale & The Big Steppersalbum.
August 20, 2021
Since being MIA, Kendrick Lamar provided fans with a life update via his oklama site, which is essentially an outlet for his alias of the same name.
"I spend most of my days with fleeting thoughts. Writing. Listening. And collecting old Beach cruisers. The morning rides keep me on a hill of silence," Lamar (AKA olama) wrote on the site. "I go months without a phone."
"As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years. ... May the Most High continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators. As I continue to pursue my life's calling."
The post concluded with a picture of Kendrick Lamar in the studio, presumably recording his Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers album — it was just enough confirmation for fans to know that, finally, Kendrick was coming back.
April 18
Kendrick Lamar broke the internet by announcing that his Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers album would drop on May 13 (that's Friday the 13th, by the way).
The PSA came through Lamar's pgLang media company — which recently launched a Converse sneaker collab — and his oklama alter-ego.
May 3
Lamar once again went incognito on his oklama site to reveal a photo of a person holding a Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers book and two CDs, one for "Morale" and the other for "Steppers."
Are we getting an A-B-sided album? Is this the album artwork? The people want to know, but alas, the mystery of Kendrick Lamar remains as out of reach as pgLang itself.
May 8
Again using his oklama moniker, Lamar surprised everyone with his first solo single since 2017, dropping "The Heart Part 5" song and video — continuing his usual "The Heart" motif to hold fans off until his album's release.
Like most of his content, Lamar's "The Heart Part 5" visual was steeped in the rapper's perspective on Black culture.
Specifically, while he was rapping, Lamar's face morphed into the visages of famed — and often controversial — Black pop culture figures like Will Smith, Kanye West, and OJ Simpson, to name a few.
Though there's no indication the song will be on the forthcoming album, the video was still trending across social media even 24 hours later.
Sheesh, talk about the Kendrick effect.
And we're still only fresh into the week of Kendrick Lamar's anticipated Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers album release. What's next?
May 11
Kendrick Lamar unveils the cover art to Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, featuring his family.
Lamar holds their eldest daughter while his partner Whitney Alford cradles a newborn, which people suspect is the couple's reported second child.
May 13
The moment we've all been waiting for: the arrival of Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (and yes, it's a double-album as predicted).
Coinciding with the album release, the rapper announced a global tour, rightfully titled The Big Steppers Tour, with Baby Keem and Tanna Leone. Presale kicks off on May 20 via the oklama site.
May 14
Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers album is the gift that keeps giving as the rapper drops a music video to the album's "N95" song.
