Mental Health Awareness: Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
We may not know which way to go
On this dark road… — Kendrick Lamar
Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in May in the United States since 1949. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, the fifth studio album by Kendrick Lamar was released on May 13, 2022. The album has been referred to as an 18-part therapy session. Each song has a different theme or message, but ultimately, on every track, Lamar is addressing symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression (grief), post traumatic stress, and addiction disorders. Lamar takes listeners along his journey to self-growth and a better life for himself and his loved ones.
The first track “United In Grief” deals with handling grief by excessively buying luxurious items. Lamar contrasts this behavior with words from Eckhart Tolle, a German-born teacher. Tolle acts as a second voice, as Lamar’s spiritual guru who guides him (and listeners) to improvement, beginning with the ‘egoic mind’. According to Tolle, the egoic mind refers to central core of mental activity that consists of certain repetitive and persistent thoughts, emotions, and reactive patterns that people identify with more strongly than others. The result of this activity might be constant complaining, resentment, non-reaction, obsession and cult-like behavior.
“N95” deals with taking off a literal and/or metaphorical mask to reveal your true self. According to Tolle, egos only differ on the surface. Deep down they are all the same. In the song, Lamar says:
Take off the Chanel
Take off the Dolce
Take off the Birkin bag (take it off)
Take all that designer bullshit off
And what do you have? (B*tch)Huh, huh, uh, you ugly as f*ck…
The crux of Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers is contradiction. Ironically, Lamar has recently been named a brand ambassador for Chanel, and his first campaign is for the brand’s new eyewear collection. Before the start of every concert on Lamar’s GNX tour a Chanel eyewear commercial is displayed that features Kendrick Lamar. “Tying up with Chanel — one the world’s most carefully controlled, risk-averse brands — could signal that Lamar is opening a new chapter and putting a year of controversy behind him,” Robert Williams wrote. What Williams doesn’t seem to realize is that Kendrick Lamar has never been about labels or being restricted to a box.
Other songs such as “Worldwide Steppers” deals with political correctness, respectability politics, and cancel-culture. “Die Hard” deals with addressing relationship issues and Lamar’s insecurities about loyalty and commitment. “Father Time” deals with tough love and pride through the lens of the rapper’s relationship with his father. “Rich Spirit” deals with finding balance between life and work. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers stands apart from rap albums (most albums in general) in that eschews mental health stigmas in order to help people cope. The album was released during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it was especially timely.
According to Tolle, every ego is continuously struggling for survival, trying to protect and enlarge itself. To uphold the status quo, the ego needs the opposite thought of ‘the other’. Ego cannot survive without the conceptual other. This constant battle between the ego and self is aptly addressed in many of the songs on Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. The first ‘side’ ends with “We Cry Together” and “Purple Hearts” that explores overcoming toxicity in relationships and coming out stronger on the other side.
One of these lives, I’ma make things right
With the wrongs I’ve done, that’s one of you now
With the Father, Son, ’til then, I fight
Rain on me, put the blame on me
Got guilt, got hurt, got shame on me
Got six magazines that’s aimed at me
Done every magazine, what’s fame to me? (And I’m trippin’ and fallin’)
At the beginning of “Count Me Out” on the second ‘side’ of the album we hear Lamar’s parter Whitney say, “Session 10: breakthrough.” The music video for the song (my favorite) features actress Helen Mirren as Lamar’s therapist. Some of the themes explored in earlier songs are shown in the video such as masks and mending relationships (Whitney is also featured).
This song and video resonates most with me as I was in cognitive behavioral therapy from ages 12 to 18, then again during different chapters of my adulthood. Instead of Tolle I was given tools by my therapists to address learned patterns of unhelpful behavior. I learned better ways of coping with them, thereby relieving the symptoms and becoming more effective at living my life. While therapy did not provide me with set instructions I was able to live my questions and find ways to the answers.
“Crown” deals with Lamar’s realization that he can’t please everybody. “Silent Hill” deals with avoiding negative influences. “Savior” deals with Lamar’s realization that he’s just a human and not a higher power even when some people may put him on that kind of pedestal. “Auntie Diaries” deals with homophobia, transphobia and religion. “Mr. Morale” deals with self-care. “Mother I Sober” deals with PTSD. “Mirror” doubles down on the theme from “Savior” and deals with Lamar and his family’s well-being.
Sorry I didn’t save the world, my friend
I was too busy buildin’ mine againI choose me I’m sorry…
When I was 12 years old, I chose to intervene on my own behalf and seek help for severe anxiety and chronic depression. I picked up the Yellow Pages, flipped to a listing for ‘Child Psychiatry’ and called the first woman I saw. This led to one month of hospitalization (I was still in middle school) and four years of outpatient therapy. Kendrick Lamar’s album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers is a reminder that everyone’s path is different but we all can should seek help whenever we need it to live better lives.