-
10.0
129952
10.0 |
The Independent
A tender opus from the defining poet of his generation
Read Review
-
10.0
129953
10.0 |
Evening Standard
Still light years ahead of the game
Read Review
-
10.0
129955
10.0 |
Clash
‘Mr Morales & The Big Steppers’ is one of his most profound, complex, revelatory statements yet, a double album fuelled by sonic ambition, the will to communicate, and Kendrick’s staunch refusal to walk the easy path
Read Review
-
10.0
129958
10.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Truthfully, an album likes this makes sense. It’s Lamar putting down his testament; defining himself to contextualise the rest of his burning supernova story
Read Review
-
10.0
129962
10.0 |
The Guardian
After a five-year hiatus, the Pulitzer winner returns with an exhilarating epic that ties personal pain to collective trauma – and lets no one off the hook
Read Review
-
10.0
129963
10.0 |
Dork
Musically, lyrically and spiritually, it’s a tour de force that reaches a level few others can. Daring, ambitious and supremely confident, it’s also a very insular and personal album – probably the most personal statement he’s ever made
Read Review
-
10.0
129966
10.0 |
NME
The rapper's first album in five years sees him overcome "writer's block" to triumph with a collection on which his observational skills go into overdrive
Read Review
-
10.0
129974
10.0 |
The Arts Desk
It might not be funtimes, but it is truly, compellingly brilliant
Read Review
-
9.5
129968
9.5 |
Northern Transmissions
This album, like many of his albums, (notably the jazz masterpiece To Pimp A Butterfly,) dabbles in rap form with all sorts of modern music, including classical, funk, pop, and underground
Read Review
-
9.0
129985
9.0 |
PopMatters
Kendrick Lamar observes the strife plaguing his kingdom and consciously abdicates the throne
Read Review
-
9.0
129986
9.0 |
A.V. Club
He's metaphorically put his whole heart on the table, with yet another body of work worthy of multiple spins and endless dissection
Read Review
-
9.0
130001
9.0 |
Gigwise
Few storytellers, if any, are able to deliver a comment on society that is both as observative and introspective as Kendrick’s
Read Review
-
8.8
130010
8.8 |
Beats Per Minute
It’s far too complex, far too searching to be wrangled in a simple review. I know this much: we’ll be talking about this one for a long, long time
Read Review
-
8.1
130032
8.1 |
Paste Magazine
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers rejects conformity and leaves its flaws in on purpose, featuring some of Kendrick’s best and worst songs of his career
Read Review
-
8.0
130037
8.0 |
Albumism
Beyond petty bellyaching about bloat from a great, be forewarned that this is Lamar’s prickliest album to date
Read Review
-
8.0
130071
8.0 |
The Observer
The Pulitzer prize-winning rapper grapples with Black trauma and his own family’s struggles on this brave, electrifying fifth album
Read Review
-
8.0
130096
8.0 |
musicOMH
With lyrics as erudite as ever, this remarkably detailed self-portrait offers a surprising glimpse behind the curtain – and should be applauded for its intimacy
Read Review
-
8.0
130124
8.0 |
Crack
There’s no doubt that Mr. Morale is an album to unravel over time, and where loosening one thread will likely pull you deeper into its world
Read Review
-
8.0
130409
8.0 |
Uncut
Kendrick battles an army of selves. Print edition only
-
8.0
129988
8.0 |
Slant Magazine
The album is a gripping treatise on the relationship between Lamar’s inner turmoil and the cultural landscape
Read Review
-
8.0
129991
8.0 |
Loud And Quiet
A record that reaches out halfway and asks you to do the rest of the work, and it’s deeply rewarding as a result
Read Review
-
8.0
129977
8.0 |
The FT
On a bravura album, the Pulitzer-winner sheds egotism, incorporates many voices and opens his private world
Read Review
-
7.6
129979
7.6 |
Pitchfork
It’s ambitious, impressive, and a bit unwieldy
Read Review
-
7.5
130368
7.5 |
Under The Radar
Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers is an incredibly ambitious, messy, heavy, daunting record that ultimately ends with our protagonist coming out on the other side as a better person, though still not a perfect person
Read Review
-
7.0
129983
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
The Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper spends much of his fifth studio album deconstructing his own mythology. The result is at moments brilliant but on the whole, frustratingly uneven
Read Review
-
6.6
130005
6.6 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
The listening experience is defined by languorous stretches between big moments, and becomes more of an exercise in patience than an engaging and enlivening journey
Read Review
-