Ahead of Kendrick Lamar’s album release, he released his first solo single The Heart Part 5. This is his first solo single release since Black Panther in 2018, alongside All the Stars and Pray for Me featuring SZA and The Weeknd for the Black Panther film, which starred Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, and Leticia Wright.
The Heart Part 5 is the fifth instalment of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘The Heart’ series, which started in 2010, which has now accumulated almost 23 million views on YouTube and over 14 million streams on Spotify since its release just days before he unveiled his album Mr Morale and The Big Steppers on May 13th, 2022.
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers https://t.co/544YaTY8ys
— Kendrick Lamar (@kendricklamar) May 13, 2022
The 18-song album presents an individual and unexpected style in every song, with fans instantly taking to Twitter to unleash their thoughts and opinions. Certain songs have been acclaiming more attention than others, with Aunties Diaries being one of them. It anchors on his direct experience with transgender relatives, with conversations on social media both praising and criticising him for his lyricism within the song. The lyrics in Aunties Diaries includes Kendrick Lamar repeating the f-slur: “I said them F-Bombs, I ain’t know any better”, with some fans deeming this inappropriate and unnecessary, in order to have the ability to express the message he wanted to get across. On the other hand, fans have been praising the rapper for expressing his tumultuous journey from adolescence, to understanding the complexity of intersectionality and gender issues with direct links to his family members and the effect it had on them.
Kendrick Lamar dropped Auntie Diaries, a song about trans acceptance & intersectionality, while conservatives across the country are pushing a full on assault on all LGBTQIA+ people & their allies He didn’t have to do this – he’ll probably get shit for it – but he did Powerful. — conure (@conureCC) May 13, 2022
Hours after his album drop, a ‘tour’ button appeared on his website, Oklama.com, where it would take the user to a poster proclaiming “Oklama presents… The Big Steppers tour 2022″ with Baby Keem and Tanna Leone as support acts. The poster ends urging fans to “come help Mr Morale get out of the box”
The Big Steppers Tour https://t.co/LgMFiWPbWT pic.twitter.com/2txiUEwM5g — Kendrick Lamar (@kendricklamar) May 13, 2022
Kendrick Lamar is set to make his first live performances in June at the Milano Summer Festival and Glastonbury Festival, with the official tour starting in North America, with 38 dates total through July all the way to September. Kendrick will make his way to Europe in October 2022, and is set to make his first UK performance in Glasgow, on November 2nd, with 8 more performances following Glasgow. Tickets are set to release for presale on May 19th through Live Nation, and for general sale on May 20th. Set your reminders now to avoid missing out.
