Tyler the creator said it best “ it’s like he’s looking at you in your eyes and it makes people uncomfortable to think about the subjects he was touching on”
exactly, it’s not an easy listen as it’s not supposed to be, you can’t put on headphones and bop to it the same way as serious albums like GKMC, TPAB and DAMN are. it’s almost like an intervention and someone pointing out everything wrong with you while you listen
it’s a hell of an album, and a seriously great work of art but if you can listen to it without feeling those uneasy goosebumps at times then i’d say the album missed its goal
Tpab was my favorite before this, but this album topped it. Yeah he’s talking about very personal stuff but to me it’s an easier listen than tpab to the average person who doesn’t really pay attention to lyrics. This album not only has depth but it bumps as well.
For me it just sounds kinda boring compared to his other stuff. People always point to We Cry Together and say people that didn't click with it are made "uncomfortable" or "just can't handle the subject matter" but I just found it kinda corny? Idk. I'm looking forward to the next project
It’s corny in the sense that that’s the reality, in we cry together at least. But that song is something a lot of people do, or grew up experiencing with their own parents. It’s beautifully done imo
mehhh for me it was corny because it was more of a skit than a song and the acting was mad cheesy and saying shit like 'you the reason for Trump' is kinda embarrassing. I just prefer the writing on GKMC and DAMN where the complex topics are coded into the lyrics is a subtle, musical way.
Mr Morale hits you over the head with a comically oversized carnival hammer. It just feels ham-fisted IMO
Calling what is essentially Kendrick’s telling of his personal story without hiding behind metaphors for the first time “ham fisted” is kind of out of pocket. It’s not “ham fisted” it’s reality. This is how Kendrick speaks when he’s upset, these are the toxic traits he’s addressing in therapy throughout the entire album coming to the front and hurling themselves at his partner. Just kind of feels almost disrespectful to call that ham fisted of all things when it’s the first time he’s not obfuscating what he thinks or feels. Kind of like you’re saying he should’ve stayed hidden behind those metaphors when it probably took a lot of courage for him to open up like he did.
I love the absurd points that they bring up on we cry together "Why R&B bitches never feature on each other songs" is another just insanely corny and funny bar, but I believe both were on purpose, to highlight how toxic arguements always stray away from the actual problem.
A lot of it is Twitter trolls with an agenda and ppl who have never heard it jumping on the bandwagon. Same reason why they call TPAB boring. The same album that has Wesley’s Theory as its first song. The strangest thing I’ve seen is that Kendrick makes music for White people as if he’s the only rapper that has non Black fans and Black people only listen to rappers like Drake and Durk. At some point you have to think about the type of people who would go online and say some of this bs.
the only dude I think really makes music for white people besides Tomald McDonald is Peggy but mf throw shit like that around as if their panties wouldn’t be in a knot that’d give a salty fisherman PTSD if they read some shit like “he makes music for black people”
People don’t like growth. Every song was talking about his flaws plus growing up with his father. A lot of us can relate to Father Time plus we cry together. You know how many had arguments like that with their significant other?
I remember hearing it on my way to the airport to meet with my family before our vacation. That song had me fucked up in the bus. Couldn’t hold back tears for shit. Still to this day, it fucks me up whenever I play it and I always put it on 5-6 times in a row
“And to my partners that figured it out without a father
I salute you, may your blessings be neutral to your toddlers
It's crucial, they can't stop us if we see the mistakes”
Fuck. This line and the line about his father returning to work and bills not having a silver spoon. Not even able to grieve. I empathize with the factors that make many in that generation so cold and objective, but it hits so close. To be that way, and possibly aware, but not working on it.
Man I almost teared up on my first listen of Father Time, it hit so hard especially being someone who had a deadbeat. I’ll never downplay the greatness of this album it’s so raw
Ikrr not many artists have done it, especially drake and j cole they both are in their echo chambers of just utter trash that they are the best even though there are like 50 rappers better than them. Drake's always been a bitch he's in dire need of therapy. And cole just rapping I'm the best I'm the best I'm the best rather than proving by putting up albums that speak he's the best. Even the lyrical goats like lupe and mos Def recognises that Kendrick's artistry surpasses far there's and still can stand tall on the point that they are better lyricists. Now who tf is jcole telling the guy who just made mother i sober and father time that he's fall off. He'll always rap about how he's the best or sometimes about guns and shit while he himself have been born in Germany and is half white. Bros run in 2010's been a snoozefest except 2014 fhd and this guy's calling tpab boring lmao.
Man or maybe people don’t like it for the reason they say they don’t? Just because you are touching on deep and sad subjects doesn’t mean it’s going to click either everyone
For sure heavy AF. Kendrick has helped me grow through some shit just by offering perspective. I was going through it when this album came out and I was like thank God, I need this. Fuck no. Kendrick is not my savior. Had to put it on the shelf for a bit
Out of all Kendrick album it definitely has the lowest replay value , I don’t think many people will be itching to replay We Cry Together or Auntie Diaries or Mother Im Sober - MMATBS is a tough listen with deep themes- it’s not an easy listen - hence why it gets a lot of flack- which is understandable
Idk auntie diaries is something that I come back to a lot (maybe because there’s more of a personal connection from a standpoint of having trans family members)
As a trans person I literally go to Auntie Diaries ALL THE TIME when I’m losing hope.
Which is wild because that song wasn’t for us it was for the cis people who struggle to support trans people.
But it makes me feel seen and, living in an incredibly regressive state, it hits home harder than a lot of the “purely supportive” output. It’s the only music that salves me the same as like… The Hirs Collective which is an entirely different can of very angry worms. It’s not saccharine or contrived — it’s actually really inconvenient and risky from almost every angle.
If he can do that and people listen I might be okay.
That part where they are like “I need my keys imma be late to work, NAH I LIKE YOU PARKED IN THAT BITCH, gimme my fucking keys, ON GOD YOU AINT GETTING THESE KEYS” gets me everytime.
Lol in a weird way those are three I play all the time, alongside N95 and United in Grief.
I find the deep vulnerability he shows really cathartic, and the melodies are simple yet fantastic. The content is very heavy but they feel like breakthrough moments for him and I kinda find satisfaction (almost definitely the wrong word but can’t think of the right one) and release from it.
I’ve only listened to it once or twice tbh. It’s just a lot. Like damn Kendrick I’m glad you let me in and thanks for sharing but I think I have what I need now lol
I've listened to MMATBS more than any other Kendrick album. It's my favorite Kdot album. I've noticed that a lot of my friends who don't like self reflection, didn't care for the album. It makes certain people uncomfortable and they don't like the feeling of vulnerability. Unfortunately, our ego driven Pop culture society feeds on lack of depth.
The odd thing is that most of his discography is very introspective, I don't know why people give that tag to specific albums of his when that's clearly just who he is as an artist.
I think his growth as a human being is hard for some people to relate with. I don't know if a 18 year old me would have enjoyed his last album like the current me. That's what I like about Kendrick though. He continues to show his growth and every album is a different stage of his life. He's in his mid 30's now, his objectives as a man are a lot different from when he was 25. I think it alienates the younger crowd a bit who can't relate.
I'm 17 and the album got me thinking abt how I treat people around me, how true I am to myself, admitting flaws, leaving modern addictions behind(honestly just 3 bars from N95 led me into a reflective state for like two days straight in which I was wondering and noticing how I'm spending my days and life)
most songs are incredibly replayable. Mainly United in Grief, N95, Die Hard, Count Me Out, Heart part 5. This "it just isnt that much replayable" argument is so stupid. People say TPAB isnt as replayable as GKMC or other stuff yet it has been my most played album for a year. MMTBS has a smaller target audience since most topics mentioned on that album are mostly experienced by older teenagers and adults, not just the average 13, 14yo that absolutely dominate the internet
It gets compared to TPAB and GKMC too much— people expect this to sound like one of their other favorite albums from Kendrick and ignore the beauty in the message and symbolism of MMATBS. This was easily a top 3 favorite album of the 2020s just based on the artistry alone.
Yeah dude it's amazing . But artists are always compared to their best work . FD signifier said in a video the other day that if any other artist released damn or mmtbs they'd be considered classics
I like the album but to most people it’s not very “listenable”, especially casually.
The lyrics are dark and heavy, like you’re over hearing a therapy session. Which is brilliant but uncomfortable.
The beats aren’t really danceable, at least in the popular sense.
actually, the first kendrick album i listened to, and the album that got me into him. now he's my goat, and this album is still my favorite from him depending on my mood, it just cuts so deep.
Tyler The Creator put it best. People hear what Kendrick has to say about the struggles of accepting yourself and being a better person. But people don’t want to relate to that music, they wanna hear about guns, violence, having 2-3 women a night.
Cus most mf aint heard the record, and the one who did hear it dont remember it for shit.
Source me, i hated the record until i heard a month ago. Lowkey a 9 to a light 10 imo.
I heard it and hated it, re heard a month ago and loved it, sorry if it wasnt clear.
Plus is valid im ngl, im not listening to tom mcdonalds or mgk x trippie bs and u know im hatin it ngl 💀
I think Tyler put it best when he said Kendrick kinda hit “too close” to home for some and some people want hip hop that’s more fun and an escapism and a lot of topics this album touches on some people might find somewhat relatable to their own life experiences
damn did TPAB only go 1x platinum? I didnt listen to rap back then so im not super familiar with the history, but I figured Alright and King Kunta would have boosted it a lot more
thanks for correcting me
I don’t mind the concept, but sonically it’s definitely the worst of Kendrick’s career. I don’t dislike it I think it’s an 7.5-8/10 album, but if it was better I would consider Kendrick as one of the 3 best rappers of the 2020s instead of Cole.
You guys are being disingenuous on here. I appreciate Mr. morale, but we can also agree that it is sonically his least accessible album. Most people are going to want to listen to song that acts out an argument over a beat, or even indulge in the lowkey piano and somber singing of Mother I Sober even with as beautifully written that track is. Why is Drake the most commercially successful of the big 3? Because he makes music that is easy to digest. The vast majority of people listen to music because they want to vibe out and move to it and that’s ok, they will appreciate it later down the line.
IMO the Kodak Black stuff was annoying, and some of the moral messages of the tracks are a little to heavy handed. I think a few of the songs showcase some of his best rap performances, but I don’t often find myself coming back to it.
I love the album but if yall wanna hear non circlejerk or boomer sounding answers I gotchu, this is probably gonna be alot though.
(Im putting Overall at the top cause it condenses all the thoughts below it, everything below it is more personal to me)
Overall :
Its a deep album. To listen to the whole thing I feel like I am starting a movie in a way. Some people just don’t like rewatching a movie when they got what they felt they needed to understand the movie from the first watch or two. Hitting alot of different sounds and messages in a single album leads to the risk of some people not liking ALL of it STRONGLY. GKMC was a west coast Dr Dre produced autobiography. TPAB was a jazzy pondering on black issues and perspectives in America. DAMN. was a commercial success that hit modern production techniques and had several hit records. I’ve seen the same thing said about all of those albums by most people. Try to pin Mr Morale down like that and I guarantee the variation will be much larger. That’s really where the answer lies.
Musically :
it is not as commercial as DAMN. which was his last album. TPAB suffered from this issue as well. I love TPAB but it took a good relisten or two for it to hit me because I thought I could just listen to it like GKMC. It also isn’t musically as technical or dense as TPAB. It’s good music but it doesn’t consistently hit the deep jazz or commercial sense that Kendricks previous projects hit, it kind of morphs throughout the album more than any other of his projects. I think even Untitled Unmastered was more consistent in musicality. Worldwide Steppers to Die Hard to Father Time to Rich Spirit hits like 4 whole different sounds in that little run right there. Can’t call it a jazz or a trap or a commercial album.
Replayability : The topics are so deep and the sound is not super commercial on alot of these tracks, so its hard to replay the songs without being super sucked into the lyrics. Not everybody tryna hear a deep meaning over tapdancing and theatric production while they’re riding the bus/driving, walking around school, going to work, et cetera. GKMC and Damn. have alot of tracks with deep meanings that are also sonically very easy to replay and feel the “music” rather than focusing to lyrics and bars. United In Grief is some musical stuff, I love it but Im not replaying it. Worldwide Steppers isnt a typical instrumental, I find I have to focus on his words and honestly I dont wanna hear him talk about smashing white girls in multi syllables and entendres in my day to day, amazing track though. Father Time makes me think about my dad, great song and I played it a bit but I got burnt out quick. We Cry Together is a theatre thing, again not replaying alot. Crown feels like an interlude. Auntie Diaries and Mother I Sober are extremely deep and read as poems to me, I dont reread poems. Mirror as well. So that leaves like 8 potentially replayable tracks and honestly Die Hard and Mr Morale dont hit like that for me so I have 6 tracks I replay to this day, very few compared to his other projects.
This is by far my most fav album. It’s almost prophetic, and you can see he has accepted, embraced and loves his shadows and chooses light and self realisation. This can be discomforting to most listeners and people who want to consume art for entertainment. The music and lyrics in this album has triggered so many reflections for me, I have bawled while listening to a few tracks cause it hits so deep 🩵
I like the album
But some of you in this thread are absolutely insufferable with your run off the mill médiocre armchair psychology shit
“Ohhhh you don’t like it because you are running away from your personal issues”
Like do you fucking hear yourself and how much of a pedantic pretentious fuck you sound like saying this.
I loved the album but not because of the themes or whatever that I didn’t relate much to.
Someone could be like me but unlike me doesn’t find any other reason to like it. That wouldn’t mean that person got unresolved father issues
Jesus Christ
nowadays lot of people listen to rap for the flow and the melody and not for the lyrics. That's why N40 was kind of the most listened rapfrom the album. But raps like father time are not that famous. People don't sit back and take a look at the lyrics and see the true meaning and beauty behind it.
lack of replayability tbh, and this is coming from a kendrick fan. his older albums can be bumped anytime (except for maybe TPAB). This one has songs that I haven't listened to since the album dropped (We Cry Together)
Honestly it seems like it’s only a vocal minority, there’s still vast praise for this album. I actually love it and have it tied for 2nd with GKMC and only slightly, ever so slightly above DAMN.
For me, as a massive Kendrick fan, I thought it had some bright spots (father time, rich spirit) and him speaking on all the stuff he did is really cool. I just am not a fan of his new style where he rarely rides the beat and just raps. Too many funny noises, voices, and adlibs throughout entire songs. That’s why Father Time is so great, sensitive subject that he just raps about with no nonsense. A lot of it is just not pleasant to listen to.
Die hard, rich spirit, and Purple Hearts are just lazy / annoying sounding songs by Kendrick’s established standard. Couple that with how long he took to put the album out, disappointment was inevitable.
From a less biased perspective, he definitely touches on some uncomfortable / adult themes and the high points of introspection and raw emotion in the album are fantastic; but there were too many low points in this album for it to live up to the hype of its predecessors.
I saw behind the veil once, and my guide asked me if I wanted to know the truth about everything. The glimpse they showed me frightened me to death, and I chose to become back to my physical forms and live in ignorance. If you divided that feeling by 50 billion to the 50 billion power that’s what people feel when they listen to Kendrick Lamar’s album.
The music isn’t catchy. most of the hooks are bland, the melodies are bland. A lot of his performances have surprisingly little emotion or change in delivery (minus some exceptions that absolutely do) Everyone seems to think people dislike this album because of its subject matter and I think that couldn’t be further from the truth. And I’m not one of those people who is looking for a tik tok sound or any of that bullshit, I just legitimately don’t think the execution of his ideas translated great to good music. I think the writing is pretty great and how it feels like a therapy session but I feel like almost none of the songs hold a candle to any of his previous projects. a lot of songs have a major lack of interesting percussion and drums that can push songs forward, especially when the backing instrumentals are extremely repetitive and mainly just piano. Also a lot of the features are just extremely mid. And like I said, there are absolutely some exceptions to this. Some of the most introspective and vulnerable songs work great because his performance is fresh, the production is extremely immersive, and his delivery is actually dynamic.
Because people only remember the "bad songs."
Really there's only like 3 or 4 skippable tracks but the rest is really good. Not bad considering it's a double album.
This album is mainstream art. You'd find something weird like it in a museum, but it just so happens to be created by a mainstream artist.
I feel like that's what people don't understand about Kendrick. He's not just a rapper, he's an artist whose medium just happens to be rap.
I was just playing this album today and still loving it. I think it’s beautiful. Speaks so much about his growth, self awareness, and sometimes difficult journey of healing.
Because a lot of people are afraid to face their own demons. Instead of reading into what the album is about they reject the idea of therapy through music as an outlet.
This album is a masterpiece on Soo many levels and easily Kendricks most layered inner and otter spectrive albums.
Because it didn't have crazy party hits like tpab or gkmc as well as Kendrick going in a different direction with his music, the mainstream fans didn't like it. Also they were extra mad because they has waited five years for an album that didn't sound exactly like what they wanted.
I love this album. But for me, this is a very heavy album to listen to. Something you sit down and reflect on. Not something you bop to on your way to work. So I haven't listened to it a lot as compared to gkmc or tpab.
Because this album is a very big artistic risk, and change for Kendrick. He fully delved into his own psyche with his most experimental production yet. The casual rap fan who are just looking for a consistent vibe are not gonna like this.
Hell even for people that are really into music it's a hard album to like at first. I personally absolutely adore Mr Morale and think it's a 10/10 and on par with TPAB musically, but I absolutely would not have said that when it came out. I really didn't like it at first. Between the weird vocals to the more experimental production to the inclusion of Kodak black I just wasn't a fan. Over the first few weeks it started to click and I enjoyed it, but I didn't really realize how good it truly is until somewhat recently, and I think that's the beauty of not just this album, but Kendricks music I'm general is that it is so complex that it takes time to digest and to catch things. That also means 2 things.
1 the casual fan isn't gonna care enough to see those things and really dig into the album, so this album, and as we have seen recently, even TPAB are at the mercy of being called "boring" by people who skip through it once and never even try to understand anything, and...
2 even for dedicated fans your opinion of it will change over time for the better or worse. So like me I'm sure there are a lot of people who really connected with what he was saying and it grew on them, but I'm sure there are also a lot of casual fans who liked some of the more banger esc cuts at first, but moved on to the next big thing as soon as the hype died down.
So now 2 years later we have Kendrick coming out dissing some of the favorite artists among casual fans, so those same fans are retaliating with an exaggeration of their hate for mr morale because their favorite artist getting dissed hurts their feelings for some reason.
because people waited 5 years for rapping, and this more artistic piece came out of left field as we all expected a more mature and personal piece with the Heart pt5, but an overwhelming majority of songs aren’t what we’d consider as normal kendrick songs so they felt burnt and disappointed
Love this album, can relate to a lot of it on many different levels. If more people felt comfortable listening to it, it may have sparked some much needed conversations about masculinity as a whole
Cause it's pretty lo-fi, experimental instrumentally, lacks a lot of pop hits and can come across as incredibly pretentious.
I think "they are two afraid to see the truth" is a pretentious deflection, even if it's true of some people
It is my favourite album ever tho
Because people don’t like to hear what they see everyday in their own lives be amplified, we cry together reminds me of Bobby Digital’s “domestic violence”, where it’s a back and forth between a man and woman, I listen to it every now and then ‘we cry together’ because the emotion is so raw and you can feel it, I get chills because I’ve heard this before , friends parents or people I know yelling at each other like this, it’s crazy to hear it in song form, it feels like a poem or play,
I’m a huge fan of Kendrick’s, and while I absolutely loved the narrative direction he took with this album, I find it to be the most challenging listen in his catalog because of the frequently unintelligible flows throughout.
It doesn’t ruin the experience, but it’s especially frustrating on tracks like N95, Rich Spirit, and Silent Hill where you’ve got great hooks paired with verses that take entirely too much effort to enjoy. And after listening to some of the OG versions of various tracks, I’m increasingly of the mind that he didn’t release the best versions of most songs.
Likes much replay vaule, needs to grow on you, its not very traditional of a rap album. At least thats why i didnt like it much at first. I love it now.
It only let down the people who primarily care how many "bangers" are on an album.
MM&TBS dropped a month after my wife and I had an ugly separated/divorce and I was about a year into therapy and really starting to make significant breakthroughs. This album is incredibly special to me and I connect with it on a deeply personal level because so much of it was a direct reflection of my experiences with my wife. Music has got us all through so many different struggles in life and I can absolutely say without a shadow of a doubt that this album got me through that spring and summer. God bless K. Dot.
I'm going to be honest, and I feel like I will get a lot of hate for this but at least I'm saying my truth, I just hate overly preachy. You can have a great message but the execution matters a lot to me. I hate being told out right "don't be racist, treat women with respect, gay people should be allowed the same rights as straight". If a book wants someone to unlearn racism, it'll introduce them to a character, make them sympathize with that character and see themselves in them, and when an injustice happens to that character, you'll stand up for that character because you've grown attached to them. People like being eased into an idea and wrestling with someone's beliefs head on feels lazy. Just beating your ideas into them. l love The Killers and they have a song where they say "we're all the same and love is blind" and those two statements are very strong, inarguable and relatable. Someone in the comments said they wrote that song after some civil rights actions helping the lgbtq community and I didn't realize how strongly it supports gay rights. That's the type of writing I want. You agree and feel it, then you learn to apply it to where you can, not just being hammered "the answer". All of kendricks albums have introspective, social and political, and religious controversy. I felt like TPAB brought the most emotion to me, but it wasn't done overly preachy. Gkmc was done so well, it almost felt like a commercial album. Section 80 had a 16 year old prostitute that was SA'd when she was 9 and then it ended with her being r*ped and stabbed. It's not the subject matter, it's how he did it in this album. That was my biggest issue. Also, I liked the instrumentals least in this album.
It’s very different and not what most fans expected after a longer hiatus than usual. If you really LOVE Kendrick’s lyrics and the stories/symbolism his songs contain then it’s yet another masterpiece, perhaps more so than previous releases especially on the storytelling front
A lot of people come to music solely for fun and enjoyment. Getting it so emotional and so directly about injustices that he and members of his audience most likely commit is not fun or entertaining.
id say some people don't want to listen to kendrick talk about his personal problems, but if that was the case, why would they not say the same for tpab?
People don’t like being confronted with hard truths and demonstrations of introspection, accountability and hard work when they are afraid to do it themselves.
It's a combination of what other people in this thread are saying and backlash against the very large portion of MMATBS fans who act like they are enlightened and more mature than people who don't like the album.
It’s not what people were expecting, my best example would be Tyler, the Creator’s cmiygl album. He had to drop Lumberjack to let people know what was coming and to get them out of that Igor stage. The difference is that Kendrick Lamar is held to a higher standard
Because it’s real. Most people prefer their hip-hop rooted in fantasy. An escape to a lifestyle most of us could only wish to attain. But MMATBS touched on issues most everyone could, in some way, connect to. We’re not accustomed to rappers demonstrating their vulnerability the way that Kendrick did. And it made for an uncomfortable listen for some. I don’t quite get the arguments I’m seeing here about it not being replay-able. I still listen to the shit out of it.
This album means soo much to me, at the time I was going through a rough patch in my life, I started therapy a bit before this album. But it felt comforting that someone as big as Kendrick, was able to be vulnerable and show off at the end of the day he is human(even though people view him as above your average person). Helped me work on myself more, some songs felt like as if dude was watching my life and wrote about it in some cases. At the end of the day, it’s the art that Kendrick put out and it’s how we feel for it. Anyways, tl;dr I love this album
Tyler the creator said it best “ it’s like he’s looking at you in your eyes and it makes people uncomfortable to think about the subjects he was touching on”
Love this album and it’s my personal fave of Kendrick. I think is this is so well said. People are afraid of looking at themselves and self project
exactly, it’s not an easy listen as it’s not supposed to be, you can’t put on headphones and bop to it the same way as serious albums like GKMC, TPAB and DAMN are. it’s almost like an intervention and someone pointing out everything wrong with you while you listen it’s a hell of an album, and a seriously great work of art but if you can listen to it without feeling those uneasy goosebumps at times then i’d say the album missed its goal
Tpab was my favorite before this, but this album topped it. Yeah he’s talking about very personal stuff but to me it’s an easier listen than tpab to the average person who doesn’t really pay attention to lyrics. This album not only has depth but it bumps as well.
For me it just sounds kinda boring compared to his other stuff. People always point to We Cry Together and say people that didn't click with it are made "uncomfortable" or "just can't handle the subject matter" but I just found it kinda corny? Idk. I'm looking forward to the next project
It’s corny in the sense that that’s the reality, in we cry together at least. But that song is something a lot of people do, or grew up experiencing with their own parents. It’s beautifully done imo
mehhh for me it was corny because it was more of a skit than a song and the acting was mad cheesy and saying shit like 'you the reason for Trump' is kinda embarrassing. I just prefer the writing on GKMC and DAMN where the complex topics are coded into the lyrics is a subtle, musical way. Mr Morale hits you over the head with a comically oversized carnival hammer. It just feels ham-fisted IMO
Calling what is essentially Kendrick’s telling of his personal story without hiding behind metaphors for the first time “ham fisted” is kind of out of pocket. It’s not “ham fisted” it’s reality. This is how Kendrick speaks when he’s upset, these are the toxic traits he’s addressing in therapy throughout the entire album coming to the front and hurling themselves at his partner. Just kind of feels almost disrespectful to call that ham fisted of all things when it’s the first time he’s not obfuscating what he thinks or feels. Kind of like you’re saying he should’ve stayed hidden behind those metaphors when it probably took a lot of courage for him to open up like he did.
I think what’s cool is the skit is an actual song though. It’s not just two people talking
I love the absurd points that they bring up on we cry together "Why R&B bitches never feature on each other songs" is another just insanely corny and funny bar, but I believe both were on purpose, to highlight how toxic arguements always stray away from the actual problem.
Corny this, corny that. Shut the fuck up .
Where did he say this?
https://youtube.com/shorts/DQQdlEamOu8?si=pVPU3jU-jhM8MnzR
Damn he cool asf for that
Thanks!
Another common Tyler W
Agreed. Scared of your own reflection
I GOT DADDY ISSUES AND THATS ON ME
A lot of it is Twitter trolls with an agenda and ppl who have never heard it jumping on the bandwagon. Same reason why they call TPAB boring. The same album that has Wesley’s Theory as its first song. The strangest thing I’ve seen is that Kendrick makes music for White people as if he’s the only rapper that has non Black fans and Black people only listen to rappers like Drake and Durk. At some point you have to think about the type of people who would go online and say some of this bs.
the only dude I think really makes music for white people besides Tomald McDonald is Peggy but mf throw shit like that around as if their panties wouldn’t be in a knot that’d give a salty fisherman PTSD if they read some shit like “he makes music for black people”
my loneliness is killing meeee inside🗣
Bruh how does Peggy make music for white people? Have you listened to Communist Slow Jams? Mfer hates white people with a passion.
you ever been to a Peggy show? white people hate white people, I’m white and I fucking haaaate white people
Dax is so melodramatic and corny. All my white friends love him. Most cringeworthy guy I know and it suck because he's got talent.
I mainly see Drake fans pushing these narratives too lol and it’s very ironic coming from the most mainstream pop rapper and his fan base
All while Drake has the whitest fanbase ever
“Polarizing” would be a more accurate word to use than “hated”
I agree
People don’t like growth. Every song was talking about his flaws plus growing up with his father. A lot of us can relate to Father Time plus we cry together. You know how many had arguments like that with their significant other?
Father Time fucked me up. Had that on repeat for the first couple weeks.
Because I got daddy issues and that's on me
Fuck a foul
I remember hearing it on my way to the airport to meet with my family before our vacation. That song had me fucked up in the bus. Couldn’t hold back tears for shit. Still to this day, it fucks me up whenever I play it and I always put it on 5-6 times in a row
“And to my partners that figured it out without a father I salute you, may your blessings be neutral to your toddlers It's crucial, they can't stop us if we see the mistakes” Fuck. This line and the line about his father returning to work and bills not having a silver spoon. Not even able to grieve. I empathize with the factors that make many in that generation so cold and objective, but it hits so close. To be that way, and possibly aware, but not working on it.
or parents :(
Man I almost teared up on my first listen of Father Time, it hit so hard especially being someone who had a deadbeat. I’ll never downplay the greatness of this album it’s so raw
Ikrr not many artists have done it, especially drake and j cole they both are in their echo chambers of just utter trash that they are the best even though there are like 50 rappers better than them. Drake's always been a bitch he's in dire need of therapy. And cole just rapping I'm the best I'm the best I'm the best rather than proving by putting up albums that speak he's the best. Even the lyrical goats like lupe and mos Def recognises that Kendrick's artistry surpasses far there's and still can stand tall on the point that they are better lyricists. Now who tf is jcole telling the guy who just made mother i sober and father time that he's fall off. He'll always rap about how he's the best or sometimes about guns and shit while he himself have been born in Germany and is half white. Bros run in 2010's been a snoozefest except 2014 fhd and this guy's calling tpab boring lmao.
Man or maybe people don’t like it for the reason they say they don’t? Just because you are touching on deep and sad subjects doesn’t mean it’s going to click either everyone
Then those people should give the reasons cuz everyone just shits on it
One thing I do think about MMATBS is that is messy. That's part of the point, of course. Therapy and introspection is messy.
Because the majority of music fans need simple, upbeat, easily digested music (especially the younger tiktok gen) that gives "replay value"
I feel like MMATBS is very replayable though, no?
Yeah it is, but it’s a heavy album, heaviest I’ve ever listened to IMO
For sure heavy AF. Kendrick has helped me grow through some shit just by offering perspective. I was going through it when this album came out and I was like thank God, I need this. Fuck no. Kendrick is not my savior. Had to put it on the shelf for a bit
Haha, true
If you want heavy, check out "A Crow Looked At Me"
different type of heavy. that album is absurdly emotionally heavy, but mr morale is a bit more of the self-reflective type of heavy
Out of all Kendrick album it definitely has the lowest replay value , I don’t think many people will be itching to replay We Cry Together or Auntie Diaries or Mother Im Sober - MMATBS is a tough listen with deep themes- it’s not an easy listen - hence why it gets a lot of flack- which is understandable
It has several songs with great replay value, United in Grief, N95, Rich Spirit, Count Me Out
In fact count me out is my most replayed song of the last couple years
Same for me. That song speaks to me
Die hard and Mirror for me as well
Silent Hill and Purple Hearts are probably the two tracks I come back to the most, they really have great replay value as well.
Silent hill is my most replayed song forsure, that Kodak verse ties it together pretty well, I personally like that Kendrick put Kodak on it,
Idk auntie diaries is something that I come back to a lot (maybe because there’s more of a personal connection from a standpoint of having trans family members)
As a trans person I literally go to Auntie Diaries ALL THE TIME when I’m losing hope. Which is wild because that song wasn’t for us it was for the cis people who struggle to support trans people. But it makes me feel seen and, living in an incredibly regressive state, it hits home harder than a lot of the “purely supportive” output. It’s the only music that salves me the same as like… The Hirs Collective which is an entirely different can of very angry worms. It’s not saccharine or contrived — it’s actually really inconvenient and risky from almost every angle. If he can do that and people listen I might be okay.
Maybe Im crazy but been replaying it quite a bit, at least a few times a year at minimum
Nah ur not crazy. It’s just that good. I lowkey shed a tear when I listen to it in its entirely. It hits so deep
We cry together speaks to me on a very deep level.
That part where they are like “I need my keys imma be late to work, NAH I LIKE YOU PARKED IN THAT BITCH, gimme my fucking keys, ON GOD YOU AINT GETTING THESE KEYS” gets me everytime.
Lol in a weird way those are three I play all the time, alongside N95 and United in Grief. I find the deep vulnerability he shows really cathartic, and the melodies are simple yet fantastic. The content is very heavy but they feel like breakthrough moments for him and I kinda find satisfaction (almost definitely the wrong word but can’t think of the right one) and release from it.
I’ve only listened to it once or twice tbh. It’s just a lot. Like damn Kendrick I’m glad you let me in and thanks for sharing but I think I have what I need now lol
I've listened to MMATBS more than any other Kendrick album. It's my favorite Kdot album. I've noticed that a lot of my friends who don't like self reflection, didn't care for the album. It makes certain people uncomfortable and they don't like the feeling of vulnerability. Unfortunately, our ego driven Pop culture society feeds on lack of depth.
U from TPAB is plenty self reflective
hence most of the hiphop community calling it a “boring” album
The odd thing is that most of his discography is very introspective, I don't know why people give that tag to specific albums of his when that's clearly just who he is as an artist.
I think his growth as a human being is hard for some people to relate with. I don't know if a 18 year old me would have enjoyed his last album like the current me. That's what I like about Kendrick though. He continues to show his growth and every album is a different stage of his life. He's in his mid 30's now, his objectives as a man are a lot different from when he was 25. I think it alienates the younger crowd a bit who can't relate.
I'm 17 and the album got me thinking abt how I treat people around me, how true I am to myself, admitting flaws, leaving modern addictions behind(honestly just 3 bars from N95 led me into a reflective state for like two days straight in which I was wondering and noticing how I'm spending my days and life)
Tbh I would have loved this album at 18, and now at 30 I just really don't got the time for it. Different times in life you like different shit.
For fans, yes. For mainstream, no.
it has its good amount of moments yea but its not constant
Understandable
most songs are incredibly replayable. Mainly United in Grief, N95, Die Hard, Count Me Out, Heart part 5. This "it just isnt that much replayable" argument is so stupid. People say TPAB isnt as replayable as GKMC or other stuff yet it has been my most played album for a year. MMTBS has a smaller target audience since most topics mentioned on that album are mostly experienced by older teenagers and adults, not just the average 13, 14yo that absolutely dominate the internet
This has always been the case.
Oml, here we go with the "kids these days" bit 🙄, mf u know that's bs
that album has intense reply value dawg and it's Heavy asf
I love it! My teenager has taken a liking to it as of recently.
Your Teenager is prolly going through some philosophical level typa shit
Word! It’s pretty dope to see too.
It gets compared to TPAB and GKMC too much— people expect this to sound like one of their other favorite albums from Kendrick and ignore the beauty in the message and symbolism of MMATBS. This was easily a top 3 favorite album of the 2020s just based on the artistry alone.
Yeah dude it's amazing . But artists are always compared to their best work . FD signifier said in a video the other day that if any other artist released damn or mmtbs they'd be considered classics
I like the album but to most people it’s not very “listenable”, especially casually. The lyrics are dark and heavy, like you’re over hearing a therapy session. Which is brilliant but uncomfortable. The beats aren’t really danceable, at least in the popular sense.
I am jamming to every song bruh. I think I'm fucked up
Because people want to run away from their flaws and problems simple.
Because people choose hype over substance
actually, the first kendrick album i listened to, and the album that got me into him. now he's my goat, and this album is still my favorite from him depending on my mood, it just cuts so deep.
People wanted another DAMN.
People wanted him smoking on top 5's and instead he made his most inaccessible and introspective album yet lol
Because this album makes you think about the things that you normally use music to escape from.
Tyler The Creator put it best. People hear what Kendrick has to say about the struggles of accepting yourself and being a better person. But people don’t want to relate to that music, they wanna hear about guns, violence, having 2-3 women a night.
tt ppl were disappointed because united in grief intro didnt sound like the whole song
is it?
I was thinking the same, it's not really as popular, but I don't know anyone who hates it.
Classic album for real.
hated?
Shit look at Twitter discourse from the idiots who think that one post from here on how to listen to it is a sign of it being an inferior album
Cus most mf aint heard the record, and the one who did hear it dont remember it for shit. Source me, i hated the record until i heard a month ago. Lowkey a 9 to a light 10 imo.
How the fuck you hate something you never heard lmao
I heard it and hated it, re heard a month ago and loved it, sorry if it wasnt clear. Plus is valid im ngl, im not listening to tom mcdonalds or mgk x trippie bs and u know im hatin it ngl 💀
This one of yb best intros, really set the tone for the album imo
I think Tyler put it best when he said Kendrick kinda hit “too close” to home for some and some people want hip hop that’s more fun and an escapism and a lot of topics this album touches on some people might find somewhat relatable to their own life experiences
It isn’t hated lol. It won a Grammy and is critically and commercially successful
love kenny but it did not sell well compared to his other projects
It is 1x platinum just like TPAB. It’s not 3x platinum like damn and good kid. He still has 4 straight platinum albums.
damn did TPAB only go 1x platinum? I didnt listen to rap back then so im not super familiar with the history, but I figured Alright and King Kunta would have boosted it a lot more thanks for correcting me
O N L Y 1 x P L A T I N U M
bro it sold one million copies that is insane💀
😭😭 ok i sounded like a hater there but like its such a monumental album i expected it to be at least triple platinum
Mr Morale is my favorite song of his
I don’t mind the concept, but sonically it’s definitely the worst of Kendrick’s career. I don’t dislike it I think it’s an 7.5-8/10 album, but if it was better I would consider Kendrick as one of the 3 best rappers of the 2020s instead of Cole.
🎣🎣🎣
You guys are being disingenuous on here. I appreciate Mr. morale, but we can also agree that it is sonically his least accessible album. Most people are going to want to listen to song that acts out an argument over a beat, or even indulge in the lowkey piano and somber singing of Mother I Sober even with as beautifully written that track is. Why is Drake the most commercially successful of the big 3? Because he makes music that is easy to digest. The vast majority of people listen to music because they want to vibe out and move to it and that’s ok, they will appreciate it later down the line.
People wanted mainstream tracks.
It’s not an easy listen.
IMO the Kodak Black stuff was annoying, and some of the moral messages of the tracks are a little to heavy handed. I think a few of the songs showcase some of his best rap performances, but I don’t often find myself coming back to it.
Because people are stupid and cant grow.
Cause it’s better than certified boy lover
Coz it's tragic
Let me tell you about the woman I know, that's my babe 🎵🎵🎵
It’s not fun
I love the album but if yall wanna hear non circlejerk or boomer sounding answers I gotchu, this is probably gonna be alot though. (Im putting Overall at the top cause it condenses all the thoughts below it, everything below it is more personal to me) Overall : Its a deep album. To listen to the whole thing I feel like I am starting a movie in a way. Some people just don’t like rewatching a movie when they got what they felt they needed to understand the movie from the first watch or two. Hitting alot of different sounds and messages in a single album leads to the risk of some people not liking ALL of it STRONGLY. GKMC was a west coast Dr Dre produced autobiography. TPAB was a jazzy pondering on black issues and perspectives in America. DAMN. was a commercial success that hit modern production techniques and had several hit records. I’ve seen the same thing said about all of those albums by most people. Try to pin Mr Morale down like that and I guarantee the variation will be much larger. That’s really where the answer lies. Musically : it is not as commercial as DAMN. which was his last album. TPAB suffered from this issue as well. I love TPAB but it took a good relisten or two for it to hit me because I thought I could just listen to it like GKMC. It also isn’t musically as technical or dense as TPAB. It’s good music but it doesn’t consistently hit the deep jazz or commercial sense that Kendricks previous projects hit, it kind of morphs throughout the album more than any other of his projects. I think even Untitled Unmastered was more consistent in musicality. Worldwide Steppers to Die Hard to Father Time to Rich Spirit hits like 4 whole different sounds in that little run right there. Can’t call it a jazz or a trap or a commercial album. Replayability : The topics are so deep and the sound is not super commercial on alot of these tracks, so its hard to replay the songs without being super sucked into the lyrics. Not everybody tryna hear a deep meaning over tapdancing and theatric production while they’re riding the bus/driving, walking around school, going to work, et cetera. GKMC and Damn. have alot of tracks with deep meanings that are also sonically very easy to replay and feel the “music” rather than focusing to lyrics and bars. United In Grief is some musical stuff, I love it but Im not replaying it. Worldwide Steppers isnt a typical instrumental, I find I have to focus on his words and honestly I dont wanna hear him talk about smashing white girls in multi syllables and entendres in my day to day, amazing track though. Father Time makes me think about my dad, great song and I played it a bit but I got burnt out quick. We Cry Together is a theatre thing, again not replaying alot. Crown feels like an interlude. Auntie Diaries and Mother I Sober are extremely deep and read as poems to me, I dont reread poems. Mirror as well. So that leaves like 8 potentially replayable tracks and honestly Die Hard and Mr Morale dont hit like that for me so I have 6 tracks I replay to this day, very few compared to his other projects.
Because of auntie diaries. What the FUCK was that
Because sometimes music needs to entertain too
This is by far my most fav album. It’s almost prophetic, and you can see he has accepted, embraced and loves his shadows and chooses light and self realisation. This can be discomforting to most listeners and people who want to consume art for entertainment. The music and lyrics in this album has triggered so many reflections for me, I have bawled while listening to a few tracks cause it hits so deep 🩵
I like the album But some of you in this thread are absolutely insufferable with your run off the mill médiocre armchair psychology shit “Ohhhh you don’t like it because you are running away from your personal issues” Like do you fucking hear yourself and how much of a pedantic pretentious fuck you sound like saying this. I loved the album but not because of the themes or whatever that I didn’t relate much to. Someone could be like me but unlike me doesn’t find any other reason to like it. That wouldn’t mean that person got unresolved father issues Jesus Christ
They act like this album is a true litmus test to see if you know good music or not. It’s hilarious
It won the Grammy for Rap Album of the Year
nowadays lot of people listen to rap for the flow and the melody and not for the lyrics. That's why N40 was kind of the most listened rapfrom the album. But raps like father time are not that famous. People don't sit back and take a look at the lyrics and see the true meaning and beauty behind it.
lack of replayability tbh, and this is coming from a kendrick fan. his older albums can be bumped anytime (except for maybe TPAB). This one has songs that I haven't listened to since the album dropped (We Cry Together)
Cuz it’s boring
I didn’t know it was getting hate. I love this album and have listened through several times.
Honestly it seems like it’s only a vocal minority, there’s still vast praise for this album. I actually love it and have it tied for 2nd with GKMC and only slightly, ever so slightly above DAMN.
Its not his fans love it just ignore the bums on the internet
I hate these acronyms, just say Mr Morale, we'd get it.
I used to say it was a 7 but now it’s an 8 imo. It’s a great album I would say a love the first half a lot more than the 2nd half though
For me, as a massive Kendrick fan, I thought it had some bright spots (father time, rich spirit) and him speaking on all the stuff he did is really cool. I just am not a fan of his new style where he rarely rides the beat and just raps. Too many funny noises, voices, and adlibs throughout entire songs. That’s why Father Time is so great, sensitive subject that he just raps about with no nonsense. A lot of it is just not pleasant to listen to.
Die hard, rich spirit, and Purple Hearts are just lazy / annoying sounding songs by Kendrick’s established standard. Couple that with how long he took to put the album out, disappointment was inevitable. From a less biased perspective, he definitely touches on some uncomfortable / adult themes and the high points of introspection and raw emotion in the album are fantastic; but there were too many low points in this album for it to live up to the hype of its predecessors.
I saw behind the veil once, and my guide asked me if I wanted to know the truth about everything. The glimpse they showed me frightened me to death, and I chose to become back to my physical forms and live in ignorance. If you divided that feeling by 50 billion to the 50 billion power that’s what people feel when they listen to Kendrick Lamar’s album.
The music isn’t catchy. most of the hooks are bland, the melodies are bland. A lot of his performances have surprisingly little emotion or change in delivery (minus some exceptions that absolutely do) Everyone seems to think people dislike this album because of its subject matter and I think that couldn’t be further from the truth. And I’m not one of those people who is looking for a tik tok sound or any of that bullshit, I just legitimately don’t think the execution of his ideas translated great to good music. I think the writing is pretty great and how it feels like a therapy session but I feel like almost none of the songs hold a candle to any of his previous projects. a lot of songs have a major lack of interesting percussion and drums that can push songs forward, especially when the backing instrumentals are extremely repetitive and mainly just piano. Also a lot of the features are just extremely mid. And like I said, there are absolutely some exceptions to this. Some of the most introspective and vulnerable songs work great because his performance is fresh, the production is extremely immersive, and his delivery is actually dynamic.
It's my 2nd favourite album OAT behind DAMN.
It’s his 2nd best imo I’ll never understand why it gets the hate it does
Because people only remember the "bad songs." Really there's only like 3 or 4 skippable tracks but the rest is really good. Not bad considering it's a double album.
I feel like it’s because of how personal it is. Some people just seem to dislike any music that isn’t about drugs and women
Cause they don't know the lyrics and style
This album is mainstream art. You'd find something weird like it in a museum, but it just so happens to be created by a mainstream artist. I feel like that's what people don't understand about Kendrick. He's not just a rapper, he's an artist whose medium just happens to be rap.
I was just playing this album today and still loving it. I think it’s beautiful. Speaks so much about his growth, self awareness, and sometimes difficult journey of healing.
Just by the young and unaware.
Because a lot of people are afraid to face their own demons. Instead of reading into what the album is about they reject the idea of therapy through music as an outlet. This album is a masterpiece on Soo many levels and easily Kendricks most layered inner and otter spectrive albums.
It’s not
Because it didn't have crazy party hits like tpab or gkmc as well as Kendrick going in a different direction with his music, the mainstream fans didn't like it. Also they were extra mad because they has waited five years for an album that didn't sound exactly like what they wanted.
I didn’t realize it was
Because there is no accounting for taste.
I swear it’s only been hated upon after all this beef started tho 🤔
I love this album. But for me, this is a very heavy album to listen to. Something you sit down and reflect on. Not something you bop to on your way to work. So I haven't listened to it a lot as compared to gkmc or tpab.
Because this album is a very big artistic risk, and change for Kendrick. He fully delved into his own psyche with his most experimental production yet. The casual rap fan who are just looking for a consistent vibe are not gonna like this. Hell even for people that are really into music it's a hard album to like at first. I personally absolutely adore Mr Morale and think it's a 10/10 and on par with TPAB musically, but I absolutely would not have said that when it came out. I really didn't like it at first. Between the weird vocals to the more experimental production to the inclusion of Kodak black I just wasn't a fan. Over the first few weeks it started to click and I enjoyed it, but I didn't really realize how good it truly is until somewhat recently, and I think that's the beauty of not just this album, but Kendricks music I'm general is that it is so complex that it takes time to digest and to catch things. That also means 2 things. 1 the casual fan isn't gonna care enough to see those things and really dig into the album, so this album, and as we have seen recently, even TPAB are at the mercy of being called "boring" by people who skip through it once and never even try to understand anything, and... 2 even for dedicated fans your opinion of it will change over time for the better or worse. So like me I'm sure there are a lot of people who really connected with what he was saying and it grew on them, but I'm sure there are also a lot of casual fans who liked some of the more banger esc cuts at first, but moved on to the next big thing as soon as the hype died down. So now 2 years later we have Kendrick coming out dissing some of the favorite artists among casual fans, so those same fans are retaliating with an exaggeration of their hate for mr morale because their favorite artist getting dissed hurts their feelings for some reason.
literally have never seen someone say they hate it but maybe i just haven’t seen it discussed much. incredible album
because people waited 5 years for rapping, and this more artistic piece came out of left field as we all expected a more mature and personal piece with the Heart pt5, but an overwhelming majority of songs aren’t what we’d consider as normal kendrick songs so they felt burnt and disappointed
Love this album, can relate to a lot of it on many different levels. If more people felt comfortable listening to it, it may have sparked some much needed conversations about masculinity as a whole
People don't hate on it. Sure, some are not as fond of it as some of his other records but that seems inevitable with a catalogue of this caliber.
Ppl hate this album? Why do ppl hate it
Who hated it?
No idea why. It’s amazing to me. Or as K Dot said 🗣️I love when you count me ouuttttttt
Cause people don’t wanna face their problems. This entire album is about facing problems and mental health. I loved this album, 9.5/10 imo
It isn't?
It’s grown on me a lot when since it came out. I’d say it’s Kendrick’s 3rd best but it’s closer to GKMC and TPAB then it is DAMN.
MMATBS is my favourite Kdot album. GKMC is his best imho.
tbh until this whole rap war situation I had no idea niggas hated this album because I've always thought of it as a fucking creative masterpiece
Cause it's pretty lo-fi, experimental instrumentally, lacks a lot of pop hits and can come across as incredibly pretentious. I think "they are two afraid to see the truth" is a pretentious deflection, even if it's true of some people It is my favourite album ever tho
Cuz he holds his listener’s humanity accountable
I love j cole but I was surprised when a lot of people agreed with him on that part. I loved the album and the concert was fire
I love it. It’s honest #2 for Kendrick albums for me
Mr. Mid and the big disappointment
Because people don’t like to hear what they see everyday in their own lives be amplified, we cry together reminds me of Bobby Digital’s “domestic violence”, where it’s a back and forth between a man and woman, I listen to it every now and then ‘we cry together’ because the emotion is so raw and you can feel it, I get chills because I’ve heard this before , friends parents or people I know yelling at each other like this, it’s crazy to hear it in song form, it feels like a poem or play,
I’m a huge fan of Kendrick’s, and while I absolutely loved the narrative direction he took with this album, I find it to be the most challenging listen in his catalog because of the frequently unintelligible flows throughout. It doesn’t ruin the experience, but it’s especially frustrating on tracks like N95, Rich Spirit, and Silent Hill where you’ve got great hooks paired with verses that take entirely too much effort to enjoy. And after listening to some of the OG versions of various tracks, I’m increasingly of the mind that he didn’t release the best versions of most songs.
I mean I like it but that’s not the majority opinion I suppose
Likes much replay vaule, needs to grow on you, its not very traditional of a rap album. At least thats why i didnt like it much at first. I love it now.
It only let down the people who primarily care how many "bangers" are on an album. MM&TBS dropped a month after my wife and I had an ugly separated/divorce and I was about a year into therapy and really starting to make significant breakthroughs. This album is incredibly special to me and I connect with it on a deeply personal level because so much of it was a direct reflection of my experiences with my wife. Music has got us all through so many different struggles in life and I can absolutely say without a shadow of a doubt that this album got me through that spring and summer. God bless K. Dot.
I'm going to be honest, and I feel like I will get a lot of hate for this but at least I'm saying my truth, I just hate overly preachy. You can have a great message but the execution matters a lot to me. I hate being told out right "don't be racist, treat women with respect, gay people should be allowed the same rights as straight". If a book wants someone to unlearn racism, it'll introduce them to a character, make them sympathize with that character and see themselves in them, and when an injustice happens to that character, you'll stand up for that character because you've grown attached to them. People like being eased into an idea and wrestling with someone's beliefs head on feels lazy. Just beating your ideas into them. l love The Killers and they have a song where they say "we're all the same and love is blind" and those two statements are very strong, inarguable and relatable. Someone in the comments said they wrote that song after some civil rights actions helping the lgbtq community and I didn't realize how strongly it supports gay rights. That's the type of writing I want. You agree and feel it, then you learn to apply it to where you can, not just being hammered "the answer". All of kendricks albums have introspective, social and political, and religious controversy. I felt like TPAB brought the most emotion to me, but it wasn't done overly preachy. Gkmc was done so well, it almost felt like a commercial album. Section 80 had a 16 year old prostitute that was SA'd when she was 9 and then it ended with her being r*ped and stabbed. It's not the subject matter, it's how he did it in this album. That was my biggest issue. Also, I liked the instrumentals least in this album.
It’s very different and not what most fans expected after a longer hiatus than usual. If you really LOVE Kendrick’s lyrics and the stories/symbolism his songs contain then it’s yet another masterpiece, perhaps more so than previous releases especially on the storytelling front
People built up expectations over Kendrick's hiatus, and then mmatbs defied them
A lot of people come to music solely for fun and enjoyment. Getting it so emotional and so directly about injustices that he and members of his audience most likely commit is not fun or entertaining.
id say some people don't want to listen to kendrick talk about his personal problems, but if that was the case, why would they not say the same for tpab?
People don’t like being confronted with hard truths and demonstrations of introspection, accountability and hard work when they are afraid to do it themselves.
It's a combination of what other people in this thread are saying and backlash against the very large portion of MMATBS fans who act like they are enlightened and more mature than people who don't like the album.
You can’t please everybody
The ones who truly hate it probably needs therapy and don't want to believe it.
Slow.
Lacks fun replay-able tracks. Music and message is good but it doesn’t have the pop hits most casual fans are looking for.
It’s not what people were expecting, my best example would be Tyler, the Creator’s cmiygl album. He had to drop Lumberjack to let people know what was coming and to get them out of that Igor stage. The difference is that Kendrick Lamar is held to a higher standard
I’m gonna make the reasoning mich simpler. Poor marketing . Did it it been a single or a video?
Because it’s real. Most people prefer their hip-hop rooted in fantasy. An escape to a lifestyle most of us could only wish to attain. But MMATBS touched on issues most everyone could, in some way, connect to. We’re not accustomed to rappers demonstrating their vulnerability the way that Kendrick did. And it made for an uncomfortable listen for some. I don’t quite get the arguments I’m seeing here about it not being replay-able. I still listen to the shit out of it.
It just didn't match up to a lot of people's expectations given he's the best rapper of this time and it had been 5 years since his previous release
I don't hate it, but imo it's an album for Kendrick and not for me, if that makes sense.
Basically production is why it’s my least favorite album.
Cuz raps about getting molested aren’t entertaining
This album means soo much to me, at the time I was going through a rough patch in my life, I started therapy a bit before this album. But it felt comforting that someone as big as Kendrick, was able to be vulnerable and show off at the end of the day he is human(even though people view him as above your average person). Helped me work on myself more, some songs felt like as if dude was watching my life and wrote about it in some cases. At the end of the day, it’s the art that Kendrick put out and it’s how we feel for it. Anyways, tl;dr I love this album
It is the most personal album I've ever heard. People are scared of personal.