Kendrick Lamar Releases New Album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers: Listen and Read

Less than a week before the release of the new LP, Lamar dropped “The Heart Part 5,” his first song as a lead artist since 2018 and the latest in his long-running “The Heart” singles series. Historically, Lamar has shared these tracks as a prelude to a bigger project. “Part 5” arrived with a music video directed by Dave Free and Lamar, in which the rapper’s face morphs into deepfakes of OJ Simpson, Will Smith, Jussie Smollett, Kobe Bryant, Kanye West, and Nipsey Hussle. The visual opened with this quote attributed to Oklama: “I am. All of us.”

Lamar has since revealed the album artwork for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers: a somber image shot by Renell Medrano. In the intimate bedroom scene, Lamar wears a crown of thorns while carrying a child whose gaze pierces the camera. In the background, a woman sits on an unmade bed holding a baby. Lamar, who has a gun conspicuously tucked into his pants, stares out of the window, as if on the alert for threats.

In the years since he released Damn., Lamar has appeared on songs by Busta Rhymes, Terrace Martin, Sir, and Anderson .Paak. He helmed Black Panther: The Album, the soundtrack to Ryan Coogler’s Marvel blockbuster, and released the Oscar and Grammy–nominated “All the Stars” with SZA. In March 2020, Lamar and Dave Free launched pgLang, a “multi-lingual, at service company” that creates multimedia content for high-end brands.

“Family Ties,” Lamar’s 2021 collaboration with his cousin and protégé, Baby Keem, went on to win the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance. Lamar joined Keem onstage to perform the song and another collaboration, “Vent,” at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival last month. After joining a bumper-edition Super Bowl halftime show in February, Lamar is set to headline both Glastonbury and Rolling Loud Miami later this year.

Read “How Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5” Video Subverts Deepfake Technology” over on the Pitch.

Volume 1

01 United in Grief

Producer: Beach Noise, Duval Timothy, J.LBS, OKLAMA, Sounwave, Tim Maxey
Composer: Duval Timothy, J. Pounds, Jake Kosich, Johnny Kosich, Kendrick Lamar, M. Spears, Matt Schaeffer, Sam Drew, Tim Maxey
Lyricist: Duval Timothy, J. Pounds, Jake Kosich, Johnny Kosich, Kendrick Lamar, M. Spears, Matt Schaeffer, Sam Drew, Tim Maxey
Additional Producer: Beach Noise, Tim Maxey
A&R: Brock Korsan, Kevin Rodriguez for pgLang
A&R Coordinator: Juanita “Niya” Morton for pgLang
Assistant Mixer: Anthony Vilchis, Trey Station, Zach Pereyra
Associated Performer: Kendrick Lamar
Asst. Recording Engineer: Andrew Boyd, Sedrick Moore II
Engineer: Johnathan Turner, Johnny Kosich, Matt Schaeffer, Ray Charles Brown Jr.
Mastering Engineer: Michelle Mancini
Mixer: Manny Marroquin
Narrator: Whitney Alford
Rap Vocalist: Kendrick Lamar
Studio Personnel: Andrew Boyd, Anthony Vilchis, Johnathan Turner, Johnny Kosich, Manny Marroquin, Matt Schaeffer, Michelle Mancini, Ray Charles Brown Jr., Sedrick Moore II, Trey Station, Zach Pereyra

02 N95

Producer: Boi-1da, Hykeem Carter, Jahaan Sweet, Sounwave
Composer: Hykeem Carter, Jahaan Akil Sweet, Kendrick Lamar, M. Spears, Matthew Samuels, Sam Drew
Lyricist: Hykeem Carter, Jahaan Akil Sweet, Kendrick Lamar, M. Spears, Matthew Samuels, Sam Drew
Additional Producer: Hykeem Carter
A&R: Brock Korsan, Kevin Rodriguez for pgLang
A&R Coordinator: Juanita “Niya” Morton for pgLang
Assistant Mixer: Anthony Vilchis, Trey Station, Zach Pereyra
Associated Performer: Kendrick Lamar
Asst. Recording Engineer: Andrew Boyd, Sedrick Moore II
Engineer: Matt Schaeffer
Mixer: Manny Marroquin
Rap Vocalist: Kendrick Lamar
Studio Personnel: Andrew Boyd, Anthony Vilchis, Manny Marroquin, Matt Schaeffer, Sedrick Moore II, Trey Station, Zach Pereyra

03 Worldwide Steppers

Producer: J.LBS, Sounwave, Tae Beast
Composer: Donte Lamar Perkins, J. Pounds, Kendrick Lamar, M. Spears, P. Darnell, Sam Dew, V. Crane
Lyricist: Donte Lamar Perkins, J. Pounds, Kendrick Lamar, M. Spears, P. Darnell, Sam Dew, V. Crane
Additional Producer: J.LBS
A&R: Brock Korsan, Kevin Rodriguez for pgLang
A&R Coordinator: Juanita “Niya” Morton for pgLang
Assistant Mixer: Anthony Vilchis, Trey Station, Zach Pereyra
Associated Performer: Kendrick Lamar
Asst. Recording Engineer: Andrew Boyd
Mastering Engineer: Michelle Mancini
Mixer: Manny Marroquin
Narrator: Bill K. Kapri
Rap Vocalist: Kendrick Lamar
Recording Engineer: Johnathan Turner, Matt Schaeffer, Ray Charles Brown Jr.
Studio Personnel: Andrew Boyd, Andrew Vilchis, Johnathan Turner, Manny Marroquin, Matt Schaeffer, Michelle Mancini, Ray Charles Brown Jr., Trey Station, Zach Pereyra

04 Die Hard (with Blxst and Amanda Reifer)

Producer: Dahi, FNZ, Hykeem Carter, J.LBS, Sounwave
Composer: Amanda Reifer, D. Natche, Hykeem Carter, Isaac John De Boni, J. Pounds, Kendrick Lamar, M. SMITH, M. Spears, Matthew Burdette, Michael John…