Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers

[Malcy]

I'm on Disc 2 now and I'm bored. The first few tracks sounded fantastic out the speakers but the production is a huge let down for the majority of it. Couple of tracks sound like the type of stuff Drake and his ilk shite out.

I was going to listen to the new Onyx album first but kind of glad I have it to look forward to afterwards now.

[thugler]

Not a big fan of this so far. I can admire things about it, but a lot of it is just not that enjoyable a listen. Some of the more conventional tracks are not great either. Few very good tracks, a lot of very heavy theatrical stuff that's not really my bag. Shame the heart part 5 not on it because i dug that a lot.

[thugler]

Put this on again this morning and enjoyed it a lot more. Still feel like it's a bit too long and have reservations about a few tracks, but actually got into it. Think I was a bit harsh on the number of dramatic/theatrical tracks, there aren't as many as i thought. Feel like if it was a single album, perhaps with the heart 5 on it too, it would be a classic. Enjoyed the ghostface cameo.

I think what i needed was to hear it on proper speakers.

[Joe Qunt]

It's a difficult listen but it's a fascinating piece of work. Lyrically dense and full of interesting production. I found it took a while to get 'started' for me but when it did it was really enjoyable. My favourite tracks are:

• Worldwide Steppers
• Father Time
• Purple Hearts
• Auntie Diaries
• Mother I Sober
• Mirror

Solid 4 stars.

[thelittlemango]

Also grown on me a lot.

I was underwhelmed on first listen as it felt like a patchy DAMN-esque album but have listened to it a lot since then and there's a lot to appreciate and his rapping is frequently great. The only ones I wasn't into were Purple Hearts and Rich Spirit, I don't enjoy Kendrick on the more syrupy side of production (I hated 'GOD' and 'LOVE' from his last album) and now skip 'We Cry Together' as it's a stressful listen and loses replay value quite quickly but overall it's great.

[imitationleather]

Got tickets for the UK tour this morning. Jeez Louise, some of the bloody prices. Is this kind of thing normal for large gigs now? Don't you know half the country is having to use food banks and no one can afford to heat their houses, Ken?!

[SteveDave]

Lil' Ken's got his overheads too.

Does whoever his agent/ticket agency do surge pricing? That's the latest shocking awfulness from live gigs.

[imitationleather]

£165 for standing!!! Is that for London?

We got £75 for standing in Newcastle. The seating tickets were well over £100 each though. Fuck dat.

[SteveDave]

£165 for standing!!! Is that for London?

We got £75 for standing in Newcastle. The seating tickets were well over £100 each though. Fuck dat.

That's not for Kendrick, that's for Lil Nas. But if he's got the same promoter/agent I wouldn't be surprised if a similar thing is happening. LCD Soundsystem did it too apparently.

[SteveDave]

Just checked and it's £180 for a floor ticket at the O2...and the cheapest seat I found was £143. Woooo.

[imitationleather]

This is getting into Daniel O'Donnell and Cliff Richard pricing territory.

[SteveDave]

Hang on, I was looking at some secondary ticketing thing...the cheapest tickets are £71 in the Gods and the standing tickets have sold out from the looks of it.

[The Mollusk]

Wow. I love gigs almost as much as I love my family and friends but I'd genuinely rather go without than succumb to those prices. No gig is worth that much.

^{*discreetly puts a book on top of £150 VIP Ween ticket*}

[thugler]

Will be seeing kendrick at glastonbury, and having seen him once before not sure it'll be an amazing show. Definitely not worth 165 anyway.

One thing I love about his rapping, and it's really evident on this record is the amount of variation he gets out of his voice, he can sound weary, goofy, breathy, rough, young, old, and inhabit characters. Combined with the interesting production on his voice all the time it makes him completely one of a kind. Reminds me of Prince in that regard. He's not afraid to be funny/silly at times too.

Not completely vibing with the second disk yet. But this is still a very strong record overall.

[Memorex MP3]

I haven't had much of an urge to listen to it the last few days; probably a better album than Damn but I'll wind up spending more minutes in the future listening to the highpoints of Damn than revisiting this one. Won't be too invested in future releases, unless he manages an <40 minute one at some point.


Wouldn't touch a gig in those price levels unless it was a crazily special occasion and/or a guaranteed fun time, not sure he'd be that good in a massive venue and definitely don't think this album would suit that setting.