By Thomas Vo ’25
The famous annual Grammys was celebrated for the 65th time last Sunday with the appearances of many well-known artists. Big names were announced as artists took the stage for their music production in 2022. However, there is a name that attracted much of the audience’s attention: Kendrick Lamar. He struck again when he delivered his recent album. Here is an inside scoop on what happened on the Grammys stage that night.
In 2022, the famous rapper Kendrick Lamar released an album called “Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers,” marking the end of a 5 year wait since his previous album, “DAMN,” in 2017. “Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers,” or MM&TBS for short, has been nominated for the rap album of the year, victoriously proving its quality in defeating the four other nominees. Pusha T’s “It’s Almost Dry”, “Come Home the Kids Miss You” by Jack Harlow, Future (I Never Liked You), and DJ Khaled (God Did) remained some of the best music albums published in 2022. “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” is a concept album that got in touch with a diversity of emotions. It stresses, analyzes, and reflects Lamar’s life experiences during his therapy journey. Lamar’s genius as a lyricist covers a variety of personal themes, including childhood and generational trauma, infidelity, and celebrity worship. Overall, “MM&TBS” was crowned one of Kendrick’s best musical albums. Nonetheless, Kendrick was also awarded “Best Rap Performance” and “Best Rap Song” with the track “The Heart Part 5”. Counting the 2023 Grammy Awards, this was the eighth time Lamar was nominated and became the most-nominated male artist.
2022 was a successful year for the American rapper and he is more than laudable to receive a Grammy award. The dedication which he showcased in his work will be remembered for years to come.
