Compton State of Mind, Vol. 2

NME5/ 5 stars

“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”

Slant Magazine4/ 5 stars

“The album is a gripping treatise on the relationship between Lamar’s inner turmoil and the cultural landscape”

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”

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”

Rolling Stone3.5/ 5 stars

“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”

Pitchfork7.6/ 10

“It’s ambitious, impressive, and a bit unwieldy”

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”

PopMatters

“Kendrick Lamar observes the strife plaguing his kingdom and consciously abdicates the throne”

The Guardian5/ 5 stars

“The Pulitzer prize-winning rapper grapples with Black trauma and his own family’s struggles on this brave, electrifying fifth album”

Exclaim!9/ 10

“He’s metaphorically put his whole heart on the table, with yet another body of work worthy of multiple spins and endless dissection”

Sputnik Music

“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”

Paste

“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”