Episode #102: Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers: An African Internationalist Review

Today, we are excited to examine Kendrick Lamar and his new album Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers.  Lamar has produced his first album in five years, following much anticipation.  Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers double album that engages a variety of topics that pertain to the lived experience of African people.  Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers is representative of Lamar’s general intervention into hip hop.

Over the past 12 years, Lamar’s music has defied the form and genre that has historically been applied to hip hop culture and rap music.  There has historically been a division between what people call “conscious rap” and “hardcore or gangsta rap”. 

Kendrick Lamar’s immediate entry into hip hop has been to give definition to the African experience under US counterinsurgency. This was the point of his debut studio album Section .80 and it has continued for the past 11 years.

While defining the conditions that Africans endure, Kendrick, like many other African artists, does not point the political way forward.  In this episode we take it upon ourselves as African Internationalists to interpret Kendrick Lamar's work and identify the way forward.  

To do this, we are joined by our newest co-host, and die-hard K.Dot fan, Solyana Bekele. 

Black Power Talks is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Dexter Mlimwengu, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.