士气先生与干大事者 (2022)

Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers is the fifth studio album by the American rapper Kendrick Lamar, released on May 13, 2022, by PGLang, Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records. The album serves as his first release under his creative company PGLang, and his final project with both TDE and Aftermath. Lamar, who executive produced the album under the pseudonym Oklama, reunited with frequent collaborators Sounwave, J. Lbs, DJ Dahi, and Bekon for the majority of the album's production.

Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers is a concept album that analyzes and reflects on his life experiences during his therapy journey. Its lyrics touch on a variety of personal themes, including childhood and generational trauma, infidelity, and celebrity worship. Primarily a conscious hip-hop record, the album experiments with minimalist production while incorporating elements of jazz, R&B, trap, and soul. It features narration by Whitney Alford and Eckhart Tolle, and guest appearances from Blxst, Amanda Reifer, Sampha, Taylour Paige, Summer Walker, Ghostface Killah, Baby Keem, Kodak Black, Sam Dew, Tanna Leone, and Beth Gibbons of Portishead.

Upon release, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers was met with widespread acclaim from critics, who praised Lamar's lyricism and the album's scope, although some found it inconsistent and Kodak Black's appearance controversial. The album was supported by three singles: "N95", "Silent Hill", and "Die Hard", all of which charted within the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Other promotional initiatives included headlining performances at Glastonbury Festival and Rolling Loud, and a musical guest appearance on the season 48 premiere of Saturday Night Live. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers debuted atop the Billboard 200, marking Lamar's fourth number-one album in the United States. The album won Best Rap Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards and received eight nominations, including Album of the Year. To further promote the album, Lamar embarked on his fourth solo headlining tour, titled the Big Steppers Tour, which visited Europe, North America and Oceania.

Background

Following the release of his fourth studio album Damn (2017), Kendrick Lamar took a five-year musical hiatus. During this time, he executive produced the soundtrack album for the superhero film Black Panther (2018), became a father of two children with his longtime romantic partner Whitney Alford, and founded the creative services company PGLang with his creative partner Dave Free. Lamar cites a two-year stretch of writer's block as one of the reasons for his long absence.

In December 2020, the Roskilde Festival announced that Lamar would be headlining the festival's 50th anniversary event in 2021, noting that "new material [was] on the way". However, the festival was cancelled in May 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions. In an August blog post, Lamar announced that he was in the process of producing his final album under Top Dawg Entertainment, writing:

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. I go months without a phone. Love, loss, and grief have disturbed my comfort zone, but the glimmers of God speak through my music and family. While the world around me evolves, I reflect on what matters the most. The life in which my words will land next. As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years. The Struggles. The Success. And most importantly, the Brotherhood. May the Most High continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators. As I continue to pursue my life's calling. There's beauty in completion. And always faith in the unknown. Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts. I've prayed for you all. See you soon enough.

Recording

Rap has truly helped my expansion of self. Beyond the perception of who I believed to be. [...] Music is air to a young nigga at this point. Mr. Morale, the catalyst of my self-expression.

Lamar described Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers' songwriting as material he's written in the past that's "just now seeing daylight" due to his own personal insecurities. He and his longtime producer, Sounwave, began recording the album in early 2019 during a week-long brainstorming session in London; the only song from the session that made it onto the album was "Father Time". Both Lamar and Sounwave described making the album as "one of the toughest creative processes imaginable" due to Lamar's privacy, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the deaths of Nipsey Hussle and Kobe Bryant.