After five years away from the spotlight, Kendrick Lamar emerged last Friday with his fifth studio album Mr Morale & The Big Steppers, a complicated, ambitious work that juggles the personal and the political across its sprawling and invigorating hour-plus runtime. 

We said, 'That it sometimes gets lost in its own knotted complexity is besides the point, because this is an album designed to be picked apart for years. When he's in his dotage a few decades from now, it could easily be viewed as Lamar’s masterpiece.'

We love it, but does everyone else rate it as highly as us? Find out below with our review round-up from some of the most important music sites across the web. 

Pitchfork

Rating: 7.6/10

‘Despite all its aggrieved poses and statements, the often astonishing rapping, the fastidious attention to detail, and its theme of self-affirmation, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers ironically never settles on a portrait of Kendrick. Perhaps that slipperiness is the thrust of the album, which might be read as his answer to a question he asked a decade ago, before he was anointed as hip-hop’s conscience: “If I mentioned all my skeletons, would you jump in the seat?” That fear of being defined by trauma and shame resonates throughout, but Kendrick and his blemishes are so defined by negation—of white gazes, of Black Twitter, of weighty listener expectations—that by the time the record ends, Kendrick’s “me” is just as nebulous as the effigy he’s spent the album burning.’

(Words by Stephen Kearse)

Read Pitchfork’s full review here 

NME

Rating: 5/5

‘While ‘good kid, m.A.A.d city’ showed the world what it’s like to grow up as a kid in Compton, his fifth album serves up vignettes about what it’s like to be a Black adult whose trauma still haunts them. In laying his soul bare, he hopes we realise how we can set ourselves free from generational curses too. This album is as much about struggle as it is freedom, and what a beautiful sentiment that is.’

(Words by Kyann-Sian Williams)

Read NME’s full review here

Stereoboard

Rating: 5/5

‘There’s so much to take in here. Every track features a dense brew of ideas and emotions, as well as accomplished sonics. It’s simultaneously innovative and accessible, and tackles complex subjects with a creative verve that is jaw-dropping at times. It’s enormous, nuanced, daring, poignant and completely engrossing, a work of brilliance that will be talked about for a long time.’

(Words by Tom Morgan)

Read Stereoboard’s full review here

Mr Morale & the Big Steppers album cover Source: Oklama

The Guardian 

Rating: 5/5

‘“I can’t please everybody,” he keeps repeating, as if it’s a mantra designed to manage his eventual decline. It’s smart forward thinking: after all, every successful artist has their unrepeatable moment in the sun and no one’s lasts for ever. But, on the evidence of Mr Morale & the Big Steppers, an album that leaves the listener feeling almost punch-drunk at its conclusion, it’s not a mantra Kendrick Lamar has any need of at the moment.’

(Words by Alexis Petridis)

Read The Guardian’s full review here

Stereogum

No rating

‘Kendrick Lamar is critic-proof, and he always will be. He’s not worried about a critic; that ain’t the protocol. With his new album, Kendrick aims to overwhelm, and he succeeds overwhelmingly. Kendrick has presented Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers as a double album even though it’s not his longest. If CDs were still a thing, this would fit comfortably on a single disc. But Kendrick didn’t make this album with a single-CD mentality. Instead, he’s gone for messy overreach, rebelling against the idea that a Kendrick Lamar album should be a world-changing event. A new Kendrick Lamar album is a whole lot for anyone to process, especially for Kendrick Lamar himself.’

(Words by Tom Breihan)

Read Stereogum’s full review here

The Line of Best Fit

Rating: 10/10

‘Of course, being a Kendrick Lamar album, there’s going to be aspects of this painstakingly torn apart, but on the surface this is a how double-disc albums should be. It’s a layup to tie together all he’s done with a magnificent bow that takes every second of its hour-plus run time and packing in more than any other artist would dare, while tackling new sonic terrain where the beats are often dutifully restrained and purposeful. With plenty of room for breathing, an organic composition of thought and feeling where added orchestral accompaniments empower. There's no real sense of hooks, instead a stream of consciousness that locks in to something bigger.’

(Words by Steven Loftin)

Read The Line of Best Fit’s full review here

Consequence of Sound 

No rating

‘Kendrick created a double LP sure to inspire tons of ink spillage from the pop culture industrial complex. And you know what? Every drop of said ink is worth it. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers is another bona-fide masterpiece from a cat who seemingly can’t miss when he steps in the booth. Through examining his own psyche, he cracks open the mind of those of us with melanin in our skin.’

(Words by Marcus Shorter)

Read Consequence of Sound’s full review here

Kendrick Lamar’s Mr Morale & The Big Stepper is out now via PgLang / Top Dawg Entertainment / Aftermath / Interscope Records. Tickets for the UK leg of Lamar’s upcoming tour go on sale at 10am on Friday 20 May.