…but is it a masterpiece??? Kendrick Lamar “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” review 

as a trans woman who cried her eyes out to auntie diaries i am absolutely in your camp regarding it. it's so raw and kind, it makes me sad to see how people have twisted it.

Here after the Drake and Kendrick beef. Your recent video was amazing and I came back to see this one. Well done

2 minutes in and giving proper praise to "Crown." Yup, time to listen to the full 94 minutes 🤘

I love that u don't do a 1-hour review just to talk about production, lyrics, and the instruments bla bla bla.. but more to tell stories and connect the listener to the album and help them to have their own understanding.. and also the books' suggestions and talking about literature is always my fav part.. I really respect what ur doing here sir! Kendrick is a genius and so are you, and this is probably the best album review that I ever watched!

"Except for when i went to Japan and everyone believed I was Brad Pitt because I was white" The best day of Brad Pitt's life is the day multiple groups of Japanese people mistook Professor Skye for him.

Thank you. I found your channel as a result of the Drake/Kendrick beef and have been enjoying your other videos since. This is the most impactful one I’ve watched so far (also really liked your (GloRilla video). As a young man (33) who’s still trying to figure himself out and didn’t receive any of this kind of insight in my upbringing…I didn’t know I needed this video today, but I did. You put growing up in a way that is so succinct and I’ve never heard it put this way before. I started therapy some months ago and cannot wait to share your list of how to become a man with my therapist. It’s perfectly worded and I really appreciate you sharing it. Thank you :) Avaa 🙏

Wonderful video, Professor Skye You brought up radical empathy as something central to this album, and I absolutely agree. I think this is what the world desperately needs but sadly gets too little of. I actually think the album's title is a reference to Bob Marley and the Wailers. Unlike a 'big stepper', a wailer is someone who expresses grief or pain audibly, just like Kendrick does in this album. I think the heart part 5 pointed to this connection with Bob Marley, not only in its overall message but also by the inclusion of his hairstyle (natty dread, cath a fire, rebel music etc). On 'Purple Hearts' Kendrick sings: Crown on Bob Marley (known for being against western materialism), wrist on Yo Gotti (Yo Gotti is famous for spending millions on his watch collection). On the album cover, Kendrick wears a crown of thorns; a crown that is actually iced, just like Yo Gotti's wrists (gold and diamonds I presume). This iced out thorn-crown encapsulates both sides of this coin by both being a representation of his Big Steppin' complex AND his bleeding process of grief. On 'Mirror' Kendrick sings: Do yourself a favor and get a mirror that mirror grievance Then point it at me so the reflection can mirror freedom This hints at the mirror logic of the album ('Mirror' mirrors United in Grief, Mr Morale mirrors worldwide steppers etc), but this can also be taken literally. 'Bob Marley and the Wailers' is a mirror. A mirror that mirrors grievance (wailer=griever) The Big Steppers are in fact wailers (because of trauma, daddy issues etc), wailers that are tapdancing around the conversation by N95ing it with chains, cars, hoes and whatnot. This album is ultimately about Radical Empathy and healing. Kendrick is helping not only the culture but all of us out of the box. He is literally and figuratively a chain breaker (though not your savior). We must ultimately do the work ourselves.

Definitely a fan of this Album, I believe it’s even deeper and more complex than DAMN. Now damn was more accessible than this but it still had deeper messages, with this album I think Kendrick wanted to really express his own trauma and tribulations, not just of the people but of himself as well. You can hear it in the drive and passion of this album, with every line Kendrick is trying to portray himself, and how his true self really deals with all the issues that he talks about in his music. He’s already explained how he felt his music fell on deaf ears, and now we hear it in music form, on these tracks he’s really going into how he feels about the impact of his music, positive or negative. It’s a dichotomy there than I think people are going to overlook, just like with his past works. Hopefully this time around people really listens to what he has to say on race, trauma, religion and beliefs in one’s values and how that changes throughout life. Thank you for the review and keep the fire content coming 🔥

You're quickly becoming my favorite reviewer. The way your reviews are kind of this all encompassing discussion, with slice of life anecdotes on one hand and philosophy and literature on the other - its simply very interesting to listen to and creates an experience I haven't really encountered elsewhere.

Took me 2 months to get to you but I guess I was just saving the best review for last. And this turned out to be your best album review since RTJ4. As one of your faithful Black subscribers, I just want to say thank you for what you do.

You are doing an amazing service and I appreciate how considerate and empathic you are. God Bless

Only 15 minutes in so far, but I think I can speak for most of us by saying that we definitely ride for the long form reviews. I was personally very happy to see the runtime.

J'adore tes vidéos, continue comme ça ! C'est la première fois que je découvre une chaîne avant qu'elle devienne virale, et puis je découvre que non-seulement le mec s'y connaît en rap, mais en plus il parle français ! Donc je me suis dit que j'allais te laisser mon comm en français 😁 Je sors un album en Septembre, j'aimerais te l'envoyer. Le premier single "XXX" est sur ma chaîne. Il est thématiquement inspiré par Mr Morale (c'est-à-dire la déconstruction de soi-même, regarder vers l'intérieur pour faire face à ses démons), mais musicalement inspiré par le rap français des années 90 et 2000. Dans tous les cas, continue ! One love et bonne AVAAnture ❤

I liked this record the first time, but I like it even more after the weekend. Kendrick totally upended expectations to make this record, and that just makes me like him even more.

13:57 this is such a wholesome thing to see The pride you show is heartwarming

Emotional analingus is CRAZY. Professor a freak fr lmao

You should listen to KA’s Descendants of Cain rap album that addresses generational trauma using biblical references. I would say this and KA’s projects are some of the most important albums about self healing to ever be released.

I was left very emotional by your discussion of Auntie Diaries because, as a trans woman who loves rap, I agree that this song is necessary. It’s crass, it’s genuinely upsetting to hear, and there’s a conversation to be had about Kendrick’s trans family members being utilized in this way ultimately just to say that trans people are people too. But that’s where we are culturally, so at this point in time, Auntie Diaries serves a societal good. Moving on, I see your point about distinguishing between using or saying a word, but I think it doesn’t make a difference how you categorize the uttering of a slur. I don’t take issue with Kendrick’s use of the F slur in this song. It’s inconsequential considering, like you said, its greater purpose. But there’s no equating the F and N slur. I don’t see any scenario where a person who isn’t Black saying the N slur would have a greater purpose. I’d imagine you agree though, which is why you spoke about it hypothetically. All in all, thank you for always putting out these fantastic analyses. Seeing artists like Billy Woods and Mach-Hommy critiqued by someone as yourself makes my day.

DJ Dahi is also another anchor in Kendrick's core production for sound direction.

Of course song 7 ends w the couple having sex. Its the perfect ending. Any other way wouldnt be true to life. This is what every dysfunctuonal/toxic couple does. It has been normalized and even celebrated in our culture. The term "make up sex" has been in the lexicon for decades. "Fight just so we can make up" was a lyric from a song prob 10 years ago.

Black Star album: "no fear of time" is something you should definitely listen to.

Amazing. Just wow. Definitely will not be taking Kendrick for granted. Once in a life time artist

'Emotional analingus' is a perfect phrase. I understand it's crude, but it's perfect. It's true.

thank god for coming out the gate praising crown

I think this album needs to be transcribed with a comentary on it and made into a book. Its that special!

"I'm never listening to this song again." Aw. Such a good father figure. 😋 Don't fear art, though.

i love your videos and respect your opinions so much! was just wondering if you had a spotify account where you could make playlists where you add songs you loved from the recent albums you reviewed or something. anyways hope you and your family are doing well! thank you for this great review ❤️

I know this video is old but I just found your channel lol. You're on point with Auntie Diaries. No only that I feel the representation is actually good in that song as well. I never fail to tear up when he talks about how much he loves his cousin. There's something really special about hearing my favorite rapper say he loves his trans cousin.

Very strong message of self love in this one

I am riding with you mr professor man

2 years. And finally I've found someone who can explain and in a way discuss this album in a way similar to how I saw it myself

you’re realistic and not arrogant, thank you

This album review is the best 1h34m19s of my life, above all reviews of Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers this is the most lucid and to the tee review. I wonder if Kendrick Lamar has seen this.

I love the Transformers that was probably my favorite cartoon as a kid that and ThunderCats. I remember that Transformer he was like a spy.

This is one Skyhook review, amazing brother.

The BLACK CHRIST IN PATERNITY. Thank you for this review, always refreshing hearing your thoughts and relationship with the art. Gives it a different meaning.

i wish i had you as a professor, you’re so fuckin cool my guy

I’m riding with you!

Here after the Drake vs Kendrick... 😁😁😁

No it’s not a masterpiece … Kendrick is able to create a great theme and message throughout his albums all the time but this was one that disappointed me and had too many skips … no replay value and only 4 or 5 (at the most) good songs 🤷🏽‍♂️

I'll ride to the end Skye

I’m here in May 2024 and came across your channel because of the beef.

So well said. Awesome review!!!

i adore this man (skye)

idk about april not having a masterpiece though, hatchie's giving the world away is a perfect dreamy pop album in my opinion

Ab soul control system is a album you might njoy

To you does the recent beef he had with drake prove that he hasn’t lost his ‘fast-ball’? I think some of his best raps are within those beef tracks. And I shared your sentiment when I first heard it MMBS, it felt like he wasn’t rhyming as good and I was unimpressed at the time with the technicality. But now I look at it like maybe that was a stylisation choice.

Having sex at the end of cry together is him neglecting and tap dancing around the conversation. Instead of talking about their problems they end up having sex. The sex is integral imo

IMO White people talking about black trauma, Can be viewed in two ways sympathy (acknowledging someone else's pain.) And Empathy (choosing to feel the pain with them) But I’ve come to learn that Trauma knows no boundaries between black and white and Empathy through relatable trauma’s whether black or white draws the connection. Thank you for creating a platform like this for healthy conversations 🙌🏾💜

We’re all mourning, or ‘grieving’ the death of ‘Kendrick Lamar’. Kendrick Lamar, after having been crammed into the saviour figure archetype of our culture throughout the last ten years, has created a non-dualist album in which he has given us the honest fruits of his meditation practice and experience. He’s rapping about Kendrick Lamar from the perspective of someone who is in the process of letting go of the entire concept of Kendrick Lamarness. Our culture may have wanted another album written from inside the ‘matrix’, or the ‘ego’, or ‘samsara’, from inside ‘Kendrick Lamar’ even, but Kendrick, having found the spiritual path has done what every good spiritual teacher must do: drop the illusion they have created, turning the light onto themselves, freeing themselves and everyone else from clinging to the idea that they’re in any way special or superior. Many people will feel deflated after listening to Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, but as Chogym Trungpa Rimpoche said: enlightenment is the ego’s final disappointment, and I think that we have been somewhat freed from the myth of the saviour in a way that music has never before managed to accomplish. I put this comment on a couple of videos, but I think it’s most at home here.

if my professor was this chill i’d never miss class

Started watching your reviews after catching the latest Kendrick disses. Your stuff is incredible, and I plan on watching a lot more. Please continue analysis like this!

I completely agree with your take on Auntie Diaries. Kendrick is using politically incorrect language to meaningfully reach his target audience.

I love how you stopped Toby from tap dancing around the conversation

I’ll keep this short and sweet. This album is the most important album in the past 10 years. It’s beautiful, complex, and needed. My reaction to this album ended in a 4 hour video lol. I chopped into half’s and it’s on the way, but I feel like it’s not enough at all. I hope people keep breaking this album down over time. It’s an instant classic and masterpiece is not a wasted word here.

Wow. The best thing about this beef is discoving your channel AVAA. It's like a free college class. You treat music like the art that it is

This is quite the year for hip hop Evolving as an art form. Considering Billy Woods, Denzel Curry and Kendrick Lamar. I am very excited about the growth of the genre.

As an African American listener, from Los Angeles, I feel the importance of the white perspective is to have something to compare ideologies. It's connecting culturally, educationally (both from institution and that of the surroundings) and emotionally, finding the empathy and not just sympathizing during times of atrocity in minority communities. I appreciate your perspective Professor, for giving another literary angle that those who have read black activists and cultural literature before can understand. Gaining perspective is something I want to personally work on, so I thank you again for your take on cultural snapshots. The album and attempt at expressing very human battles, vices, experiences was that of someone who just knows there's more than just self. even more than family. Community and togetherness as a whole, really seeing our problems and speaking about those problems directly was the purpose. I hope to push for change in my community, at my college, in my home because if I don't, who will?

as a young trans person, auntie diaries meant a lot to me and while it’s not perfect it’s a huge step and i’m really glad kendrick spoke up when he didn’t have to at all

I think we need to give Whitney her due as well. She mentioned getting therapy after his infidelity. That's a strong empathetic woman right there. She's a humanist too.

Drake could never

I hate saying "as a black person" online, but as a black person I value your perspective.

I do not understand why people didnt like it first listen. This album was probably my best first listen in many years

After listening to this album (if this was the 70's), we would have named Kindrick a "spoken word artist." I would put him in same category with a Gil Scott Herron, Nikki Giovanni, and etc.. Good times.

The necessity of Auntie Diaries is exemplified by RU-vid hip-hop mega star and resident loser NoLifeShaq's reaction, wherein he freaked out over Kendrick saying "my auntie is a man now" and said "stop saying it". You don't need to look it up to know that he wasn't talking about the f slur.

I was really not expecting an album I would connect to in such a personal level from Kendrick. I am in a very transitional part of my life where I am really figuring out who I am and what I truly want while processing traumas that I have been through. Hell I just started going to therapy about a month before this album came out. Kendrick relieving himself of the pressures put on him (albeit willingly) and choosing to focus on himself and his family really resonated with me. Being a first generation hispanic-american and just my nature of being very empathic and giving myself to others, I realize, has taken a toll on my mental health and personal happiness. I wanted to be the figure for those around me to look up to and be the person others can come to for help/advice, I thought I had my shit figured out. I graduated with my Masters, have expectations to do more but I currently do not want it, the guilt from feeling like I am letting down others who believed in me is something I am currently working on. That last song just hits me like a ton a bricks, "Sorry I couldn't save the world my friend, I was too busy building mine again" "I choose me, I'm sorry". Don't want to leave this comment on a sad note, I am very hopeful that I will figure this shit out and that it will lead me to a more fulfilling and happy life but its just wild how connected I felt to Kendrick's message to where I am in my life right now. Hope it helps other people out as well.

One of the best insults ever is "div". It's a British word that comes from "divider", the lowest job at British penitentiaries where a person puts cardboard dividers into boxes. Totally unrelated to the album, but I thought you might like it.

I have never once listened to a Kendrick Lamar album. I'm a fan of Humble and his features, like on Sidewalks, but I'd never indulged in his own music beyond the big hits or hearing some of good kid m.A.A.d. city playing in the car. In fact, I still haven't listened to any of those albums. But I did listen to Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. And then I listened to it again, then two more times. Then I realised it was one of my favourite albums I've ever heard, and a surprising one. It's 18 songs long, but so listenable, and they all feel like they belong, they don't feel like they're shoved in there to make the album look more full. I barely know anything about him, yet I still felt like I was getting the full story in every song. I feel like I understand every lyric more and more. Auntie Dairies? Superb song. Amazing self-reflection on his own biases especially regarding his past and how they differed from his religious experience and his current views. I'm *almost* a gay man, and hearing his own take of how he used to say homophobic slurs all the time as a kid, vs. how he reacted to the white girl who said the n word while rapping to his song on stage, and how he thought he was indifferent to words like that and their intentionless use, but it turns out he wasn't, but now he's trying to be, and just how that all came together, beautiful. Words do not describe it. And no, I don't care that he used "the word" because, like the review said, he didn't use it in any negative way, he used it to empower a change of view in his primary audience, to relate their own homophobia and transphobia and convince them with his own stories to change the way they see those things, not by force, but by an empathetic relation, to say that he did those things, too

To me it STILL feels almost impossible that someone with the moral curiosity, the vulnerabilities, the self-awareness, the empathy, the FLAWS - all of these unquantifiable things - is a RAPPER, especially one who can reach, even appeal to people who like the more stereotypical aspects of hiphop culture, with all the ugliness and the traps that surround it. If the person with these qualities was a writer say, a sculptor, or a visual artist/painter, a philosopher, a classical musician, it would seem much more fitting. But no. He's a rapper. That is his biggest talent. Kendrick is not just great using / manipulating words - he is a VERY effective communicator because he conveys emotional depth, complexity and range, better than ANY rapper / MC I can think of - and he uses it to be a unifier, a healer to some extent, a lighthouse to self emancipation. "I belong to the warrior in whom the old ways have joined the new" (last samurai, when Algren gets the sword) KDot is not just leaving the "old" culture behind, he's carrying it with him while exploring other places, ideas and concepts.

This is my favorite Kendrick Lamar album. He touched my soul with this one.

I’m probably reading way too much into the cover art, but when you started comparing it to “Madonna and Child” it got me thinking. In “Madonna and Child” Jesus is looking out towards the viewer of the painting. This could be interpreted as being because Christ’s sacrifice was meant for all of humanity and the world in general. By contrast, on the Mr. Morale cover art, Kendrick is faced away from the viewer and towards his family. This could mean that his personal sacrifices going forward will be for his family first.

Man u're getting close to my fav reviewer .. Precise and insightful analysis monsieur

Powerful. And I don’t mind yt ppl speaking about black trauma, for 1. I can’t control conversations outside myself and 2. talking, expressing, communicating, conversing is necessary for any level of imagination, empathy, and maybe understanding of any subject. Thank you skye for this one 🙏🏾

Overall, I love this video. However I got cross about one thing that made me stop the video and make a comment. It's the stability point you made, I'm not sure about. You basically said "you don't need a good job or lots of money to find stability"....But you had that in order to afford therapy, or have the hook up where you could access therapy or 12 years. You had at least a decent job, I know being a teach or professor is no damn cake walk. But you had a job, and you came from a more stable position in society already to be able to have therapy, and have your perspective respected in the first place, in order to get to the point and guide you in the right direction. If you looked like me, had my money, my debt, my struggle, would you even get past a few months of counseling sessions before being sent on your way with some Prozac prescription (like I was) and basically told by the world that you better not have any issues or the consequences will mark you for life, or potentially be the reasons used by an authority to end your life (like so many marginalized people are when they ask for help or have a panic or mental episode)? The truth is...as the world stands right now, you need to have a good job in order to afford a health care plan, and afford to take days off without falling too far behind on bills, which will allow you the time to search for and attend therapy sessions regularly. And that takes lots of money. Regular therapy, for years in some cases. You also need the same type of stable income to truly take care of your physical health and nutrition the way you're apparently supposed to. Without the good job and enough money to sustain your self in this economy, you don't get the access to a good therapist. You might luck out if you have a good deal in life, or are lucky enough as a veteran to get treated well. However, if you're working a hectic schedule like in retail, or something demanding like warehousing, construction or something even harder, where the money is low, and that's all you can get, sorry, you don't get to take days off as much or it counts against you. And some have to work two or three jobs to make a living, with a side hustle and all the other "bootstrap" stuff one apparently has to go through in order to justify one's existence. If you're in college, you don't have time because you've got papers and projects to do and time's awasting....and in some cases, like when I was finishing my degree last year, the waiting list was ridiculous, so I had no option to get free counseling, let alone therapy. My apologies for being "triggered", however there was that point you brought up, and you brought up that nazi Kanye, whose coping mechanism is to actively support everyone he can whose goal is to return people like me to death camps and chains, and give me more real time trauma on top of what I'm already dealing with as a black queer man still learning to love himself. To you, it might just be "celebs' words meaning nothing" and "it's the internet", however, to borrow something from Kendrick, they're 'misusing their influence' to transform their "controversial opinions" into laws. And present day, you're seeing everything fall into place. I don't know if I'll ever achieve the goal that albums like these exist to express. Especially with everything going back to a time where it was much better for people who look like you, love who you love, and believe in the version of God that serves you best, over people like me. I can't just take a long self care break and separate myself from the economic world and bow out to "focus on myself" and "work on myself". If I do that, I end up on the street, and I know how homeless people are treated. I can't go back to live with my parents. They would most likely not allow it and judge me for not doing what they did when they were 30 something, although the real world doesn't work like that anymore, and especially not for people like me. Now sure, I some online friends, but I have no friends I can live with. Almost all the folks I grew up with are MAGA heads like Kanye who go around like "actually, Hitler wasn't that bad" and argue that just to be edgy. Fuck that. I have no partner and never will because I will never be able to "love myself" according to the goalpost that keeps being moved in order to justify deserving love from another person. I will also never be able to stomach the amount of gaslighting and disrespect from people I'm attracted to because they love a certain part of a black man, but won't respect a black man's struggle enough to treat him with the same level of decency, grace, and basic human respect they'd afford to someone of their own race. Now back to people who've been screwed out of their comfortable and forced to live on the streets: I try to ease that by how I treat people I see in that situation, but I know no mercy will be show to me. Let alone the ability to bounce back and "pull myself up by my bootstraps." I will just end up being another black man beat up by edgy white teens, or shot by a cop who was called to respond to somebody sleeping in their car in the wrong part of town, or die in the outside elements because I was too weak to survive out there, thus deserving to die on principle. Now onto Kendrick's album: it helped get me through a painful college experience where I didn't seem to exist, or was the only black/queer person in almost every single class room and hybrid space. I got to see my sexy, attractive, young, white peers find love and friends while I did my best to be a good person, all for nothing or to be abandoned. This album helped me think and reflect on my current state of manhood. But I'll most likely never be able to find that stability the same way you did. Let alone all the benefits of finding it your way. I'll never understand why people like me have to risk so much just for a small slice of peace, and go through decades-long journeys, just to find...a good job...while folks like you get to preach on a high horse about working on oneself when I can't even get a good job with my degree, can't afford all the other thing I'm supposed to do to see presentable and perfect for professional environments, can't afford to drive around to go to improvement classes, let alone pay the money for the classes, to even access the necessary amount of therapy to fix myself, because I was locked out of the jobs that could give me relevant experience to pair with my business degree, and because of all the people who don't think I'm good enough to work in their establishment unless I'm sweeping the floor, serving the food, stocking the shelves or unloading the truck. (It's not your fault personally, as you're just a product of your environment, just like I am.) I also apologize for the rant on a 2 year old video, however, I found this video when I found it. And when it comes to being a smellfungus, I guess I'll be that. I'll never look at the world with rose colored glasses again. I'm glad you can sometimes, but not me. Reality slapped those glasses off my face at 7 years old and gave me nothing but reasons to hate myself. I have a much longer way to go in this self love journey than you ever will. And that's all I've got. Much respect and many thanks for your contribution to the "Big Stepper" discourse. I hope you don't take what I said as a knock on you, but a knock on a picture that's bigger than you. And if my comment is too long, thus deserving to be ignored or deleted, and shadowbanned, I get that too. Hell, I've been canceled, filtered out, and discarded more times than the 35 years I've been on this planet. 🤷‍♂

So I finally finished the whole video!!! I found you with the review of tyler Baudelaire ❤️😍😍 And you are absolutely a treasure and a gift!!!!! And I'm going back to read and listen to everything you mentioned in this video I'm a fellow Christian who more than 100% believes and agrees with EVERYTHING you said In this video!!! I especially love you one sided convo in defending why you as a white person often talk about black trauma and you just believing it!!! It's not enough words to describe how amazing that was; tre mag nee fit! (Please critique me on how to correctly type that phrase lol) But I just also wanted to ALERT YOU, f.d signifier is also one of myyyy favorite you tubers And he actually went into a bit of depth already on black boy trauma and sexualization in the 2 videos. 1 was the one about black athletes being exploited And 2) the one where he discusses will smith... that one may be on his b sides Chanel Just wanted to let you know! Please continue your amazingness Beyond outstanding review!!

1:00:00 i recently broke up with someone and im not entirely over it but i feel like that expresses why it couldnt work. I may have been open and fully committed to the relationship vulnerable to hell and back trying my best but the other party in it wasnt. They for the past about year (dated for the last 2 and a half years) didnt trust me really not with all of themselves and if not that they didn't trust me it's more that they didnt like themselves. And if the other person is in that spot then it's impossible to be in a real relationship no matter what anybody does if you hate yourself it all can't follow. Who knew an albom analysis would help me disect past relationship issues thank you?

I’m always excited to see you’ve posted, and especially so about this album. I’m a trans person and found Auntie Diaries really really challenging to listen to and confront. While hearing a hip hop heavyweight like Kendrick even mention transgender people in a non mocking, non belligerent tone was truly amazing and brought me to tears, the callousness with which it felt like he was disrespecting these close family members really hurt. If someone like Kendrick, someone so well spoken and kind and self aware thinks this about trans people he’s close to, how would he feel about a stranger like me? How would the average listener of this album feel about someone like me? The more I’ve listened to it though, the more I felt that this song lines up with a major theme of the rest of the album regarding unabashed truth, and individual responsibility for the hurt he’s caused. He knows that using the wrong pronouns or names for his uncle and cousin is wrong now, he knows that saying f*ggot is wrong now, but didn’t when he was young. I think the fact that it’s called Auntie DIARIES is integral to this, this is his reflection on his mindset as a young person, and him showing the growth he’s achieved since, and the growth he yet has to pursue. This is what genuine allyship looks like in my opinion, it’s owning your mistakes, being honest about your journey, about your growth, and about the things you still struggle with. Hope all that made sense. On a completely unrelated note, it’s nice to hear you’re a fellow Bostonian!

Thi review + Aunties Diary = now I understand it

It felt like slam poetry style of rhyming.

May seem odd, but for me the album cover immediately evokes the iconic image of Malcolm X looking out the window with an AK-47. And Kendrick’s crown of thorns seems more a symbol of martyrdom than a Christ-like figure specifically. Just my two cents. Really enjoyed your review 👍

I cannot emphasise how good worldwide steppers is it feels like a silent anxiety attack. Its prolly my favourite song (not the best song) on the album so w take

This is a comment for the algorithm

I know I'm late for this and you probably won't even notice this comment (and, even if you do, I'm sure you've read so many texts like the one I am about to write, but anyway). But I still felt the need to state my apreciation for you and your analyses with you and all he people that might be reading this. I, like you and every other viewer of your channel, absolutely love music (especially hip-hop, especially kendrick...). And everytime I watch your videos I can feel your passion just by seeing you talk about it in such a way that brings me so much joy and peace when I'm stressed out or something. Yet I don't think that's the main reason for my deep love for your videos, or rather, I don't think it's the only reason for it. What I have truly come to realize instead is, everything else. Everything else but the music, that you bring up in order to justify and explain your interpretation, nly helps me love even more the music itself. Every single thing you bring up in order to put into the context of an album, every single book you recommend, every single philospher and niche french terms you reference. It is all so fascinating to watch and, most importantly, those aspects of your essays, become essential to my interpretation and appreciation for whatever piece of art you may be talking about. And that is probably because I also have a huge interest for arts&humanities, philosophy and linguistics. And I just cann't help but to be in awe with your skill for intertextualizing and analysing art. It's all just absolutely marvelous to watch unravell. Furthermore, I think this is the best example of this. And I am to busy to write why and what I love specifically about this video (in the same way you didn't go fully into the lyrics and rhyme schemes in this album), mainly because of it's density. Also, I'm afraid I've already lost you by this time with this insanely long comment. So I'm gonna go ahead and wrap it up: Thank you professor Skye, please keep it going! I couldn't be more thankful for all your work, AVAA! PS: love from Portugal!

Best album review for this 'masterpiece' I've seen so far 🎉 great breakdown and takes. Definitely an iconic album that's made to help heal/grow and it's so necessary.

I'm at the 16:14 time mark. Before I watched your video, I thought about the title and what it could mean. I did learn of moral morale's French origin. I feel like this is fate or something. I knew there had to be a deeper meaning to the title. I assumed the big steppers was alluding to the financial or corporate ladder.

This album is a masterpiece imo. I can’t stop listening to it. It had to grow on me though, I initially wasn’t feeling it.

Okay here we go my opinion... I respectfully disagree that it's not a masterpiece DAMN and TPAB are still his best work, Baby Keem Ruined the album with stale lines and artificial delivery, and I'm not a fan of Kodak or the arguing song either, I've seen it done at a lot of poetry jams. The songs where Kendrick just Raps like N95 are great but this album is not perfect because half the songs are skips. No problem with people being excited but I will not allow people to say this is the end all be all for rap in 2022.

As a transwoman, Auntie Diaries is my favorite cut off the album. I understand why some may find the framing uncomfortable, but I think it helps get the message across beautifully.

I want to tattoo "emotional annilungus" on my forehead

fantano < Professor Skye

I don’t think I would appreciate this much at all if I hadn’t experienced my first loss-of-a-friend a few months ago (I’m 19) Humanity and empathy really are what the album is about and although I didn’t know it, I do need the encouragement the album offers to embody that empathy and humanity. I think I have a lot to learn from this record. Thank you for such a personal review.

I've often felt that you were too distanced from the culture to really understand the material you were listening to in the past, but I think you really got this one... which speaks both to your evolution as a consumer of this material and to Kendrick's evolution and mastery as an artist, as he's finally made an album about the Black experience that is universally relatable, and the key was just focusing on the universal aspects of human messiness and the urgency of our need to heal. I really enjoyed your insights and the academic references and anecdotes you pulled in. Comparing this album to Balzac actually makes a whole lot of sense, since this album is basically a play (each of his albums was a different medium: Section.80 was a book with chapters, GKMC was "a short film by Kendrick Lamar," TPAB was a journal, DAMN. was mainstream mass media, and this one is a stage play).

You could say that as "Oprah-him" (I'm actually latina so I don't know too much about these two figures but I know that they are doing good to humans all over the world) This album review really makes me want to pursue poetry the Kendrick Lamar-way. I've listen to HUMBLE, All the Stars and a few from To Pimp a Butterfly. But I toon the time to listen to all the songs from this album and it was so worth it Awesome video!

Such a beautiful fucking album. Love this album so much. Such a time piece, truly a masterpiece.

I came here for a breakdown on an album i haven't had rhe chance to listen too yet , and not even halfway through im confronting the issues ive been trying to get past this whole year. Thank you Sir, and thank you Kendrick

thank you, drake, for having poked kendrick resulting in the biggest hip hop beef ever which led me to discover this wonderful channel. binge watching your videos currently and everything you say is enriching. i appreciate your thoughts and wisdom and am looking forward to see what else is on your channel! coming back to this album after the beef, it really makes sense why kendrick despises drake so much, or at least sees him as problematic to the culture. Kendrick has beaten his demons, his transgenerational traumas, has grown out of his nurture and toxic surroundings to become the man he is today. Meanwhile Drake, who lived a fairly sheltered life, entertains all the toxic parts of the culture and utilizes them to create an image of himself that he presents as "ideal". While Kendrick tries to redeem himself and be an example to (black) culture, Drake does the opposite and presents the idea of feeding your inner complexes and traumas. Giving in. Distracting yourself with chains, cars, affairs, money, power. Drake, who most likely suffered a lot from his upbringing with a deadbeat father and an insecure racial identity, chose to confront his inner conflicts with distraction. Kendrick appealed to his audience to confront these problems with healing, self-reflection and change. Drake perpetuates the traumatic cycle while Kenny tries to break it. In that regard, even if it was filthy and wicked, it makes sense for Kendrick to talk to Adonis and Drake's (supposedly) hidden daughter. Telling them that they're better than that. To break the generational cycle. It makes sense for Kendrick to focus on the angle of Drake being a bad father/role model.

Whats really interesting in the discussion of kendrick's new album is people thinking, "he could have delivered his message better without the use of slurs". My rebuttal to that statement is this. Kendrick is arguably the best lyricist of this generation. He has good command of the English language. People thinking his lyrics, use of imagery in the album and delivery style wasn't well thought out is just lazy thinking to me. In a world rife with political correctness, he chose to deliver his message in the way he thought was best and to hell with the backlash. Now as far as those marginalized communities feeling slighted, he's gonna deal with the criticism regardless. This is his art. His medium of expression. Watered down,politically correct delivery negates art.

40:31 😂😂😂😂😂 took me out‼️ You were dead serious, like I have things to do y’all. I can’t chew up and feed it to you too 😂😂😂😂

This album really spoke to me, so much that it's in my top 3 of his work, i could relate to so much of it and literally have just been starting to see a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with complex PTSD, i have just walked around with these horrible feelings thinking something was just wrong with me and i just needed to "man up" and thinking PTSD was for people that had been in war, until i read about the symptoms and ticked every box so now I'm also dealing with past trauma and having to see experts to hopefully get me working optimally, i really loved Father Time and Mother I Sober specifically and also Auntie Diaries, such an amazing album.

Emotional anilingus - the professor