Review Summary: Kendrick Lamar bares all: his flaws, perceptions, emotions, struggles with fame, and most importantly, OUR flaws.
Kendrick Lamar bares all: his flaws, perceptions, emotions, struggles with fame, and most importantly, OUR flaws. If there is one thing we can always count on Kendrick doing, it is opening up and being 'real' with his listeners. Throughout Mr. Morale & the Big Stepper, Kendrick calls out American society on many issues like materialism, daddy issues, LGBTQ+ rights, why Kanye got back with Drake, and more, through the lens of husband, father, and rapper turned Pulitzer Prize winner/poetic figure.
Commentary on relationships is nothing new to Kendrick; Opposites Attract, No Makeup, Loyalty, etc. But on "We Cry Together," he reaches an intensity unheard of since Eminem's "Kim" without the violence. Remember, he's in the human business, not the music business. Kendrick continues to become hip-hop's metaphorical father, teaching us life lessons and taking off his mask to encourage us to strip away ours. In this sense, he has every right to adorn himself with a Jesus-like crown, except one made up of diamonds and bullets.
