A Listener’s Guide to Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers

 This isn't a review. I'll try my best to keep this article from reading like a fanboy letter. There have been reviews and perspectives on Kendrick's newest album release, covering clickbait topics like the most resonating lyrics, to more substantive insights that articulate the complexities and vulnerabilities Lamar shares as a leading black voice in the hip-hop community (Check out Kevin Powell's article here). This article is a tool the average listener or seasoned musician can use to enhance their experience when listening to the album. There are soundscapes and returning textures that, when highlighted, will only strengthen you're listening pleasure. The album is a heavy-hitting introspective that will leave you confused and conflicted, not a few dead-to-rights singles with side-b tracks to fill out an album. The 18 tracks build a connection with Kendrick that makes you feel like you aren't alone in the dark parts of your mind. I can't be sure that everything I have noticed was intentional or a byproduct of intuition and seasoned production. Still, musical layers intertwine this album making it nothing short of musical caviar.

Listening Specs:

Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers provides an experience dependent on how you choose to listen. I listened to this album on Bose True Wireless Sound Sport earbuds, Sennheiser HD 599 open-back headphones, and Honda Civic speakers. I found the bass dominated on the left side of both my car and earbuds, leaving me with an unfulfilled listening experience. Something just wasn't quite right. With the ear buds, It was enough to get me lost in the groceries store or traveling the metro, but the music was missing the mark. The earbuds created an unbalanced sound inside my head rather than presenting the music as intended. The car gave me an experience where the instrumentals and beat fused into a muddy texture. It was a preferable experience compared to the earbuds, but I was missing out on crisp mids and articulate highs. Listening with Sennheiser 599s was a completely different experience. The sound stage was more accurately represented; the highs crisps and bass are no longer bleeding sounds and balanced in both ears. Panning techniques created an intimate and unique experience that made me feel like I was in the same room as the performers.

This album is intricate. Sitting down in a space where you are comfortable and can participate in the music without interruption is rewarded ten times over. To best experience this album, I recommend quality headphones or speakers to digest the music without interruption. It isn't always my recommendation that listening to uninterrupted music is a must, but if you're struggling to gain perspective or understand why everyone is saying this is a fantastic album, give it additional attention with speakers that will do it justice.

Instrumental Function:

           This album utilized samples, electronically generated drums, studio-recorded strings, piano, drum kit, bass, and much more. The depth of instrumentation is enough to overwhelm a listener. I often lose interest when a song feels overproduced or canned, layered in a way where it feels like the producer is adding layers in because they do not know what else to do. That is not what is happening here. The album has two distinct track styles. A traditional hip-hop beat with samples derived from a west coast hip-hop vibe (synth in all) or studio-recorded instrumentation and vocals that leave you struggling to absorb Kendrick’s harsh and honest perspective. Below are some examples of vital instruments and how they functioned throughout the album.

           Piano: You can hear piano featured throughout the 18 tracks. Even with its sparing use on the first track, the piano establishes an atmosphere beyond a 4 bar loop mixed into any given track. Familiar notes of French impressionistic modal and pentatonic harmonies are specifically interwoven in tracks 1, 5, 6, and 11, performed by credited producer Duval Timothy. As you listen throughout the album, take note of the piano texture appearing throughout the album, often used as a transitory experience. At times the connective texture, like in "Mother I Sober," where the piano creates an ostinato for Kendrick to rap over as the kick drum doubles the percussive rhythm resembling a heartbeat.

           Strings: String samples and orchestration are used to transition from one character piece to another. For example, in "Die Hard" and "Father Time," you hear the strings dovetail between the two songs only to fade out before a hard-hitting beat sets the tone for the bulk of the song. Whenever the strings entered a piece, It created a moment of resolve, reminiscent of Kid Cudi's Man on The Moon, where Common narrates over string orchestration. If you aren’t listening to these tracks in order, these details are easily missed.

           Tap Dancing: An unconventional use of tap dancing is presented clearly at the start of "Worldwide Steppers," this unique percussive instrument stays dormant until "Father Time" and is once again implemented as a textural shift at the beginning of the track and in the final seconds of it. Tap dancing is used in the conclusion of "We Cry Together," where tap dancing takes on a much more literal function. Taylour Paige closes the track saying, "Stop tap dancing around the conversation." Tap dancing became not only a transitory device but now has use beyond connective thematic tissue between tracks. The Tap Dancing continues to appear throughout the album like a tone poem of 19th-century program music, representing an extramusical idea to remind the listener of further context in the lyrics. After listening to the opening track, I am convinced a single tap dancing click can be heard towards the end of the track. Take a listen and see if you notice it as well.

           Kendrick's Vocal Timbre: Kendrick Lamar is a poet, unleashing line after line of word art that leaves a listener to contemplate their thoughts and perspective. His ability to change meter and cadence and weave his words into each track provides rhythmic complexity that elevates his phrasing to one of his era's top rappers. He uses an additional tool to create depth and resonance in such a way that you hardly notice the changes when listening, his timbre. Kendrick often uses two different ranges in his voice when rapping monotone or syllabic spoken-word on a singular nonmusical pitch. This upper and lower range fit perfectly into the mix of his tracks, allowing the listener to hear his voice. Check yourself throughout the album while listening to Kendrick as he raps over a verse without wavering his inflections, it is especially noticeable in”N95”. What range is he using? It is easy to miss, but Kendrick often raps on a singular monotone pitch for extended periods.

           Kendrick also moves his voice slightly in pitch and articulation to extenuate his delivery, using his voice as a musical instrument to create depth and variation for the listener. This rapping technique is the antithesis of his syllabic monotone technique. Both techniques are identifiable in "Purple Hearts." He uses his monotone technique in the upper register until adding portamentos and overenunciated speech in the hook repeating the lyric "yeah baby." In verse three, after Summer Walker takes over, he drops his voice to the lower monotone range, adding counterpoint against her melody. This track alone provides you with examples of Kendrick's manipulation of his timbre to draw from various techniques. It's one of the signature skills that I find makes Kendrick Lamar one of the most interesting rappers to listen to.

Don’t Skip Tracks:

There have been countless articles released over the last few weeks deciphering the text and meaning of Lamar's album. After my first listen, my quip was that I didn't hear a single banger, a track that I wanted to blast on the radio or sing with friends. This album isn't meant for that purpose. Without the correct primer, I could understand a first-time or unseasoned hip-hop fan to miss the mark on some tracks and the overall experience of the album. I recall as an 8th grader purchasing Miles Davis's Kind of Blue, the holy grail of jazz albums. My cousin and I put the CD into the computer and pressed play with great anticipation. Ready to have our minds blown, only to shrug and pretend to have some understanding of what we heard. This isn't to say we weren't incapable of appreciating the album; we weren't prepared for what we were about to experience. For this reason, I would like to guide you through one track to better help you from shrugging and potentially skipping one of the most unique and memorable tracks on the album.

           "We Cry Together" is not easy to listen to. I would wager it isn't supposed to be a foot tapper. It begins with a lush '70s horn section and funk-like gospel vocal giving the listener a false sense of relief. Suddenly a percussive, dissonant piano plays out of time and with uneasy rubato. This juxtaposition is probably the most accessible moment for the listener to overcome in the track. The song fills with cursing, setting the stage as Kendrick Lamar and Taylour Paige scream and argue, panning between the left and right of your ear. The piano is the foundation for the beat, syncopated and harmonically weak, never resolving as it continuously resets. These thematic devices add to the tension and anxiety of the track. Electronic tremolos and static come in and out, offering anything but sonority. The soundscape adds additional sounds of chairs dragging, hand-clapping, car keys jangling, and mouth smacking. A track that places you inside the house with a couple in their worst moment. Speaking things to one another that you wish you didn't hear, dysfunctional doesn't quite explain the content between the two voices as they drag you down a rabbit hole of sorrow and despair as the argument spirals. The second half of the track brings the lyrics outward as each voice attacks the opposite gender at large. The piano is a driving factor in this track and if you find the lyrics too crude to appreciate, take the journey with the piano. Concluding towards a soothing gospel like resolution, only to be cut short by the forever waiting tap dancing. The track is nearly 6 minutes of uncomfortable attacks, but it shows us an honesty rarely witnessed in mainstream music. I can't help but be reminded of Big Sean and Jhene Akio's track "Talk Show," granted what Kendrick does with "We Cry Together" is far more visceral.

Intent:

Regardless of its success, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is an album filled with many challenges for the average listener. It is easy for someone to dismiss and underappreciate the album's intent. I hope these musical observations can help in two ways: for an apprehensive listener to have some scaffolding to navigate the album and provide additional insight for the most avid hip-hop connoisseur as they listen and memorize each lyric. The album is a work of art deserving of study and appreciation beyond the hip-hop community.