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Kendrick Lamar releases highly anticipated album Mr Morale & The Big Steppers

The album is divided into a double-disc format containing nine tracks each

Peony Hirwani
Friday 13 May 2022 01:34 EDT
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Kendrick Lamar performs at Super Bowl halftime show

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Kendrick Lamar’s highly anticipated double-album Mr Morale & The Big Steppers is out.

Released at midnight on Friday (13 May), the album comes a few days after the 34-year-old rapper revealed the official cover art along with a new single titled “The Heart Part 5”.

The album is divided into a double-disc format containing nine tracks each.

The first part of Lamar’s double-album consists of collaborations with Blxst, Sampha, Amanda Reifer, Summer Walker, Taylour Paige and Ghostface Killah.

The second disc contains collaborations with rappers like Baby Keem and Kodak Black.

Lamar’s new album follows his critically acclaimed 2017 release Damn.

In the music video of his new single “The Heart Part 5”, the rapper’s face alters into several deepfakes including of OJ Simpson, Will Smith, Jussie Smollett, Kobe Bryant, Kanye West and Nipsey Hussle.

The lyrics of his song align with the person he’s resembling in the video at the time: discussing bipolar disorder when he’s depicted as West and murder when he’s Hussle, who was shot and killed in 2019.

The song also appears to sample Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You”.

The Compton-born rapper has kept a relatively low profile since the release of Damn with notable exceptions for the 2018 Black Panther soundtrack and an appearance at the Super Bowl halftime show earlier this year alongside co-headliners Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Mary J Blige.

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