“study areas for the different types of scholars.”

Tunesday: Songs for a bittersweet summer

Alexander Hong/Staff

Nothing’s quite as bittersweet as the summertime. As school doors close and the sun lingers late into the evening, the season promises an escape from the demands of daily life. However, without the usual stressors to occupy one’s mind, summer also evokes a certain sadness. Trips down memory lane and run-ins with old friends abound repeatedly beckon, and reminiscing on times gone by is always a bittersweet affair.

This playlist reflects the ambivalent feelings toward summertime in all its strange and splendid beauty. It ties the good and the bad together, showing how the two coexist in this time away from the hustle and bustle of college life.

“Better Now” — The Regrettes

Summer is the perfect time to recharge, though the path to wellness isn’t exactly linear. The Regrettes aim for self-betterment on “Better Now,” but they are also the first to admit that healing is easier said than done. “Even if I could form the words in my head/ I wouldn’t know how to share them for the better,” lead singer Lydia Night reflects over an industrial beat and electrifying baseline. With danceable rhythms and honest reflection, “Better Now” is a perfect swirl of sunshine and ennui.

“Violets for Roses” — Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey is the undisputed sovereign of summertime sadness, but on “Violets for Roses,” her sorrow turns sanguine. Del Rey reflects on heartbreak, but she also embraces the beauty of rediscovering herself: “Ever since I fell out of love with you, I fell back in love with me,” she sings. Layered over a simple piano, her breathy vocals flow with the cooling comfort of a summer breeze. As seasons change and love fades, Del Rey presents the perfect anthem for all your summertime feels.

“Wild Blue” — John Mayer

Listening to “Wild Blue” by John Mayer feels like floating through crystal-clear waters. A wavering guitar mimics the sea, and Mayer’s voice laps up against the shore. Though he laments a lost love, his lyrics are anchored by acceptance rather than regret. “You’ll never know/ The unlikely beauty of letting you go,” Mayer sings before his voice dips back beneath a shimmering guitar solo. With its enticing riffs and melodies, “Wild Blue” encourages listeners to surrender to its salty stream of song.

“Keep Driving” — Harry Styles

Harry Styles’ “Keep Driving” is deceptively simple. With a string of list-like lyrics, the track from Harry’s House portrays two lovers tuning out the world as it gradually falls apart. Towing the line between quotidian and erotic, “Keep Driving” possesses a titillating quality, though a certain sadness also seeps between the lines. “We held darkness in withheld clouds,” Styles sings, holding back the gloom as he keeps driving beneath the sun. In all its sultry and subdued complexity, the song deserves to be played on full volume with the car windows down.

“Gold Rush” — Taylor Swift

“Gold Rush” by Taylor Swift is a masterclass in storytelling. Effortlessly shifting between fantasy and reality, the song beautifully explores what is and what could have been. Embracing her penchant for imaginative narration, Swift admits, “My mind turns your life into folklore,” her voice wistful and full of longing. With its imagery of coastal towns and “hair falling into place like dominoes,” “Gold Rush” is the perfect track to accompany your summer daydreams.

“Movie” — Tom Misch

“Movie” opens with a retro monologue reminiscent of 20th century Hollywood. As Tom Misch’s sister narrates a former flame stepping out of her life, the sounds of a whistling train and mellow guitar faintly play in the background. Through the rest of the song, Misch’s nu wave serves as a vehicle for poignant reflection, carrying an air of romance that is comparable only to a black and white movie. Listening to Misch’s silky smooth vocals feels like sitting beneath the stars and watching an old fashioned film, soaking in the summer days as they gradually fade away.

Lauren Harvey is the deputy arts & entertainment editor. Contact her at lharvey@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian

Salt Lake’s Local indie bookstore The King’s English Bookshop celebrated Independent Bookstore Day on April 30 with local vendors, a musical performance from local high school students and a host of bookish activities.

Independent Bookstore Day

Independent Bookstore Day is a national party held on the last Saturday of April. The event commemorates the bookstores and booksellers who bring independent recommendations, locally made items and new reading materials to voracious readers.

Calvin Crosby recently became the owner of TKE after working with the California Independent Booksellers Alliance.

The store was a fixture in Crosby’s life for many years and his passion is easily readable in the laughter and smiles that he freely gives while talking about books and their impact on readers. 

“You change lives if you put the right book in someone’s hands,” Crosby said. “Not only do you change their lives — you potentially change their families lives and their children’s lives and their grandchildren’s lives. It’s a lot of responsibility.” 

The store hosted many patrons, both familiar and new, on the day of the event. Events like these allow General Manager Anne Holman to make connections between patrons and exciting new reads.

“We had a couple of women come in earlier who have been customers since we opened,” Holman said. “They’re voracious readers — it’s hard to keep them in books. They came up here and I was able to find three books for each of them that they’d never read. Nothing makes me happier than that exchange.” 

The voices of Olympus High School students showcasing their own musical production based on Marissa Meyer’s young adult novel “Heartless” filled the back patio and resounded through the store. 

The store is undeniably a hub for the community on normal days. But Independent Bookstore Day allowed the space to truly come alive with moments of connection. 

For TKE it’s about Salt Lake coming together and showing support for the local farmers, booksellers, bakers and other talented local groups and businesses that provide experiences that can’t be obtained from larger retailers or companies. Independent Bookstore Day is all about community.

A Better Bookish Future

As a local bookstore, The King’s English bustled with life on Independent Bookstore Day. 

This incredible environment is not available in larger stores. Events like this reinforce the importance of showing support to and standing with the local booksellers and businesses that lend themselves to a unique and vibrant life in Salt Lake. 

Not only do large chains and online companies take valuable sales and resources from the community, but they cause harm to the environment and other local businesses in the process. 

“Think what the impact on the environment is, never mind the fact that the money is not going to support our fire departments, our teachers, our roads,” Crosby said. “Convenience is expensive and it may not just be financially. It’s environmentally, locally and humanistically.” 

The King’s English can be visited at 1511 S 1500 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84105.

w.fuller@dailyutahchronicle.com

@whit_fuller_

The post The King’s English Bookshop Celebrates Independent Bookstore Day appeared first on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

EECS 16B removed from computer science major requirements

Jonathan Hale/Staff

Criticized for being “structured poorly,” EECS 16B will no longer be a course requirement for computer science majors beginning in fall 2022 or later.

The UC Berkeley department of electrical engineering and computer sciences, or EECS, and the College of Letters and Science executive committee announced in a statement May 26 that EECS 16B will no longer be a course requirement for the computer science major.

The statement noted this change will be effective fall 2022 for incoming and continuing students with graduation terms of fall 2022 or later. As of this summer, the number of units for the upper division technical elective requirement is reduced from seven units to four units.

“EECS 16B no longer being a requirement for CS is a massive step forward for the program,” said rising senior Cyrus Bugwadia in an email. “The material and concepts covered are only tangentially related to certain specific subfields of CS that not everyone is interested in, such as machine learning and low-level systems.”

The statement added that while students admitted spring 2022 or earlier are able to fulfill the technical elective with a computer science course, incoming students will not be able to do so.

Bugwadia, who took EECS 16B in spring 2020, also said it is a course that is “structured poorly,” noting the low performance of many students.

“As of Fall 2021, student surveys rate the course only a 3.8/7 in terms of worthwhileness, and the average GPA has fallen to 2.89, both being the lowest in the EECS department for lower-division courses,” Bugwadia said in the email.

Similarly, campus junior Jay Kudva, who took EECS 16B in fall 2021, said in an email that the content taught in this course is “unrelated” to computer science majors. Kudva added that dropping it as a requirement would allow students to take other courses related to their interests.

While Kudva said the problem-solving skills and broad range of topics covered in EECS 16B are valuable, the “constant grade pressure” makes the course difficult to manage.

“EECS 16B pushed me in an incredibly unhealthy way, and forced me to constantly lose sleep,” Kudva said in an email. “It prevented me from studying my other core classes, all because the homeworks were incredibly rigorous and involved, to the point of complete irrelevance in the scope of the class.”

Kudva said it is “frustrating” that this change came into effect after third-year computer science students were “pressured” by the department to take the course last fall.

He said that it prompted him to rearrange his schedule, preventing him from taking other courses he wanted to take that semester, such as CS 169A.

“Removing EECS 16B as a requirement for L&S CS will likely lead to a re-evaluation and re-structuring of the course as a whole, which has been long overdue,” Bugwadia said in the email.

Contact Dhoha Bareche at dbareche@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian

Following a nearly unanimous vote to allow for the authorization of a strike, resident physicians at the Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center gave L.A. County official notice of a three-day unfair labor practice strike Thursday. The strike is set to start June 13 and June 15 if a favorable agreement is not reached between L.A. County and members of the Committee of Interns and Residents/Service Employees International Union. 

Resident physicians accuse L.A. County of bad faith bargaining and unlawful conduct over the course of almost one year of contract negotiations after L.A. County’s decision to rollover the residents’ prepandemic contract, which expired in the fall, to the spring. L.A. County officials, physicians allege, have not met the union’s proposals and have repeatedly canceled bargaining sessions. The union’s proposals include a wage floor increase of 10% to keep up with inflation and cost of living increases in L.A., a rise in the amount allotted as a housing stipend and improved diversity training. 

Months of grievances and frustration at the bargaining table led SEIU Local 721-represented L.A. County employees, including nurses, to call a strike authorization vote, which began May 16 and ended May 31 with an overwhelming 99% majority voting affirmatively. 

“A super majority of our members have been watching us at the bargaining table for months and months now and watching County really leave us with no choice but to take more decisive action,” said Mahima Iyengar, regional vice president of public hospitals in Southern California of CIR and first-year internal medicine and pediatrics resident at LAC+USC. “County dragged out this bargaining process over months [and] failed to make movements on our proposals.”

The authorization vote enabled the resident physicians to call a strike if they believed L.A. County continued to bargain in bad faith. The move to strike, if unaverted, will mark the first time resident physician members of CIR/SEIU nationwide strike in 32 years. 

“We do not take the decision to strike lightly, and we have presented the County with more than sufficient notice of our strike plans in order to help ensure that they have time to safely staff our hospitals in our absence,” a Thursday CIR/SEIU press release read.

Union members said they are still hopeful that a strike can be averted and urge L.A. County to “do the right thing.”

The CIR/SEIU bargaining team is hoping to find a resolution as soon as possible, Iyengar said, as residents, interns and fellows stay on and work at the hospital for a limited amount of time.

“We have members that are going to be graduating soon that worked through the pandemic — intubating people, taking care of people — and they deserve to have some sort of resolution to this contract that’s expired before they graduate,” Iyengar said. “We also have incoming interns that are going to be starting in just a couple of weeks, and we’re already getting calls about them not being able to find housing on the salary that’s in the old expired contract.”

In a statement issued Thursday to the Daily Trojan, the L.A. County Department of Health Services reaffirmed that labor negotiations are ongoing and are led by the L.A. County Chief Executive Office. 

“Our Residents and Interns, who are completing their medical education and/or training, along with our Doctors, Nurses and other healthcare personnel are dedicated to those we serve and know first-hand how hard everyone worked to get us to where we are now,” the statement read.

Resident physicians have been engaged in intensive bargaining sessions with L.A. County over the past week, with some sessions lasting more than six hours. Though the CIR team went into the sessions hopeful that L.A. County would meet them at the table in good faith, Iyengar said, the parties have been unable to reach a definite agreement.

“We are just hoping that [L.A. County officials] bring everybody to the table that’s able to help make some decisions and that they really respond to all of our proposals … If we feel like they’re coming to the table with some movements and they’re responding to our proposals fairly, we’re still hopeful that we’ll be able to avert a strike,” Iyengar said. “It’s really a last resort for us. We don’t want to go on strike. We want to just be doing our jobs and taking care of our patients.”

The L.A. County CIR/SEIU physicians gained the support of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who expressed his solidarity with the members in a May 24 tweet.

“New doctors should not be forced to work 80 hours a week for incredibly low wages,” Sanders wrote. “I’m proud to stand in solidarity with @CIRSEIU frontline physicians in @countyofla fighting not only for decent wages and working conditions, but to improve care for their patients.”

Iyengar said she’s received calls from incoming residents who are excited to join the residency union and become a part of the current members’ efforts. Energy among the resident team is “really high” right now, she said, and her coworkers often discuss the talks among themselves. 

“I’m excited to continue to get to be part of this really incredible team of people that really put all of their time into making sure that we are able to have everything that we need outside of work so that when we’re at work, we’re able to give everything to our patients,” Iyengar said.

Negotiations between physicians and L.A. County representatives continue over the coming days.

The post LAC+USC resident physicians authorize strike appeared first on Daily Trojan.

The Hub is scheduled to open in 2024. | Courtesy of UH

As a city known for its food and one of most diverse cities in U.S., it’s no surprise that there is a wide range of culinary options for adventurous eaters in Houston. In addition to other food options on campus, the University broke ground on the highly anticipated dining commons dubbed The Hub.

The two-story 41,000 square foot facility will replace the old Student Center Satellite building, which was closed in 2020. According to an  announcement story posted on the UH website, The Hub’s goal is to provide a dining experience to students that emphasizes both sustainability and diversity.

Slated to open in 2024, The Hub aims to provide students with much more than a simple dining hall experience. Most notably, The Hub will eliminate machine-made food entirely, and afford students more transparency in their dining experience by allowing them to watch as their food is prepared. In addition, The Hub will serve as a social space where student’s come together and get to know each other.

“This will not be just another food court, but rather a student-centered space on campus that is comfortable and welcoming to everyone,” said chair of the food services advisory committee Christopher Caldwell.

To that end, special emphasis is being placed on The Hub’s layout to make the space as welcoming as possible. Key features include both indoor and outdoor seating, “Action Seating” that allows customers to watch as their food is prepared and a number of design choices made with the intent of creating a space that is both inviting and efficient.

Ultimately, The Hub will provide a novel and authentic culinary experience according to Emily Mesa, UH senior associate vice president for administration.

“The food hall is a special experience as it puts cooks back in the stations, eliminates machine made food and pulls together all the elements of locality, socialization, technology and worldly culinary experiences that are so important to our students,” Mesa said.

The University has yet to determine what food and restaurants The Hub will offer, but the administration conducted surveys in 2019 and 2021 in which they found the most popular choices among students were tacos, Asian fusion, Mediterranean and burgers.

While The Hub is still a couple years off, Caldwell has big hopes for the project and see’s it becoming a sort of “third home” for UH students.

“Your home is your first place, school is your second place, and we want The Hub to be a student’s third space. They will come there to gather for fellowship and grab a quick bite,” Caldwell said.

news@thedailycougar.com

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“The Hub seeks to reinvigorate UH Dining” was originally posted on The Cougar

Tens of thousands of people flooded the streets of Salt Lake City, from 200 South, then along 400 East, ending at 700 South, as part of the Utah Pride Center’s 2022 parade. 

The parade was much longer than years past, due to construction along the traditional route and making more room for social distancing. 

Parade delegations included a variety of school groups, community organizations, local businesses and more. A UTA bus rode by onlookers with “Ride with pride” on its digital display. Walkers gave out candy and stickers to watchers, both young and old. 

As Pride originated in a fight against police brutality, the UPC faced backlash for including cops in their parade, not only as safety, but marching alongside other groups as well. 

In an interview with the Chronicle, Kevin Randall, the communications manager of the UPC, said the Center empathizes with people who do not feel comfortable having cops at Pride, but they currently “have a good relationship with the police department, and want to maintain that.” 

On June 10, Salt Lake Community Mutual Aid will be hosting a Pride without Police event, which celebrates the revolutionary spirit central to the roots of queer liberation movements. 

April McCoy, her husband and her three daughters volunteered with the UPC to support their youngest daughter, who is pansexual. The McCoys made Pride a family event, and April said it was the best parade she has seen in her life. 

“It really irritates me when people say that respect is earned, not automatically given,” she said. “I think that’s bull crap straight across the board. I think everybody deserves respect. I think everybody deserves to be loved. I think everybody deserves to be appreciated.”

Jp Varney, the program assistant from the University of Utah College of Pharmacy, said to him, pride has a lot of meanings. 

“I’ve actually been very involved with the Utah LGBTQ+ community for the past I would say 16, 17 years, and it’s very encouraging to be here,” he said. “To think that Utah is a predominantly religious state, it’s wonderful to see that this much diversity can happen in such a small circle.”

Varney hopes that one day, Pride celebrations will not be out of necessity. 

“My dream has always been that … there’ll be no more discrimination, no more hardship, things like that, that we don’t need to have this anymore,” he said. “Right now, it’s a necessity — we need to be here for each other and that’s why we’re doing this.”

“No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us”

After the parade, people could attend a festival in Washington Square for $10 for youth and $15 for adults. There were over 300 exhibitor booths, one of them being U Health, with a highlight on their Transgender Health Program. 

Isak Goodwin, a plastic surgeon with U Health, said the program is all-encompassing healthcare, which includes family practice, urology, therapies and more. 

“[Pride is] providing access to necessary health care to everyone who needs it, and being here and supporting the community and being visible is super important,” Goodwin said. 

Right next to Goodwin’s table were representatives from the U’s LGBT Resource Center, which Mykie Valenzuela, a student staff member, said is a space for students to hang out and safely explore their identities. 

This was Valenzuela’s first year being fully out to everyone they know. 

“The Resource Center was part of the reason that I kind of was permitted to explore my gender identity in a safe space, and I really appreciate that,” they said. “So like, especially being here, working the booth at the Resource Center during Pride is kind of like an overwhelming experience, but in a good way.”

In addition to a celebration, Valenzuela believes Pride signifies a call for continued fighting and change.  

Valenzuela took their hat off to reveal a pin with revolutionary trans activist Marsha P. Johnson’s words on it: “No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us,” they read. 

“And I really think seeing so many people here, both in the community and our allies, just really gives us an opportunity to kind of take that quote to heart and really like go away with pride, wanting to make change all year and not just like, a couple days a month,” Valenzuela said. 

Self-described straight ally Alli Martin has volunteered with the Human Rights Campaign for over 10 years. To Martin, pride means service.

“I think that straight allies need to come out and be of service during Pride so that our queer friends and family can enjoy it and have fun,” she said. 

According to Martin, the HRC works to translate policy into law.

“When you look back at Stonewall and the riots that really started this movement off, what HRC is doing is working really hard to protect rights and enshrine them in federal law and protection, which we know especially over the last like four years, administrations change, leadership in our country changes and rights are very fickle,” she said. 

As a mother to a transgender child, Martin said with transgender healthcare under threat in certain states, her rights as a mother are threatened as well. 

“And so if you don’t see yourself in this movement, then I think that you’re not looking close enough,” she said. “Because when they threaten any of us, they threaten all of us.”

k.silverstein@dailyutahchronicle.com

@chronykayleigh

The post UPC Pride Week 2022 Concludes with Parade, Fight Continues for the LGBTQIA+ Community appeared first on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

Founder Angela Engel talks The Collective Book Studio, modern publishing

Angela Engel/Courtesy

With miniature portraits of Ruth Bader Ginsburg hanging from her earlobes, it’s clear Angela Engel embraces the spirit of powerful women.

As one of the leading women in the modern publishing space, Engel’s taste in fun earrings is the least impressive thing about her. In 2019, Engel founded and launched The Collective Book Studio, an Oakland-based publishing house with a starkly different publishing model from traditional presses.

According to Engel, because traditional publishers bear all the costs of title publication, up-and-coming authors with unorthodox ideas are often overlooked. Even when granted book deals, these aspiring authors struggle with legally owning their intellectual property — their titles becoming commodities of the publishing houses that buy them.

Determined to create something different from these inaccessible and stifling operations, Engel bet everything on her method of publication. Her approach aimed to bring up-and-coming authors freedom, intellectual ownership and increased profits.

“I wanted to come together as a collective,” Engel said in an interview with The Daily Californian. “I wanted to take people who are really knowledgeable within the traditional publishing space — since we understand what it means to make an arc, storyline, typography, print, layout and production — and come together to publish in a way that gives everybody access.”

Accessibility and collaboration are the core values on which The Collective Book Studio is founded. With staff who have worked in traditional presses such as Chronicle Books, HarperCollins Publishers and Penguin Random House, Engel understood the necessity of learning from tradition in order to properly disrupt the industry. 

“Sometimes the people that can solve a problem in their industry are the ones who have been in it,” Engel said. 

More than anything, The Collective Book Studio is a manifestation of Engel’s love for literature. For four years, she studied comparative literature in college, exposing herself to books from international cultures. One of Engel’s favorites of all time is “A History of Reading” by Argentinian author Alberto Manguel. Even her favorite book is about books — meta doesn’t quite cut it.

After college, Engel started as a marketing assistant and found herself being drawn to sales and numbers. She found her footing in sales and gradually ventured into the publishing space, working to amass more than 20 years of industry experience and eventually emerging as a founder of her own publishing company.

“What I always say about publishing is once you get in, you don’t really leave,” Engel said. 

Not that she ever wanted to leave: Engel shared that she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, even with the sleepless nights and restless days.

“The Collective Book Studio is my biggest blessing and my hardest challenge,” Engel said. 

For Engel, there was no rulebook — no angel investor. It was up to her to decode operations and figure out how the business would function. Engel’s ambition drove her true mission: She wanted to remodel the publishing world and publish innovative content, especially pieces written by women, BIPOC authors and other marginalized groups. 

Going against the current is a difficult sport, but Engel has emerged as a champion. 

“My ‘wow’ moment was when my debut cookbook was reviewed in The New York Times,” Engel said, pride and nostalgia plain in her smile as she remembered one of the first books her company published. “I was like, ‘Okay, we’re doing something right.’”

Aside from being an entrepreneur, Engel is also a mother of three children. Being both a mother and businesswoman has taught her invaluable lessons of resilience and optimism. It’s about channeling optimism in both motherhood and career and making the best of what you have.

“I personally think you cannot separate these roles,” Engel said.

She seems to be a constant defier of expectations. Though her lifetime is one filled with books, she hasn’t yet authored her own. 

“I’ve never written a book, but so many people have told me to. And I should — I mean, I have a publishing company, you know,” she laughed. 

Engel’s dream book to pen is a vibrant, multilayered cookbook. These recipes would trace the stories of her Jewish and Italian roots, proudly showcasing her eclectic heritage through the meals of a boisterous Jewish-Italian kitchen.

“I was the oldest kid, so when I came home from school, it was my job to shake out every pasta noodle and hang it,” she reminisced. 

These moments were stories paved by passions for cooking passed down from her mother and grandmother.

“One day, I’ll weave these women’s stories in a cookbook,” Engel said. 

While readers wait on her inevitable cookbook, the rest of The Collective Book Studio’s colorful titles will continue flying off the shelves under Engel’s leadership.

Contact Vicky Chong at vchong@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian

Jose Campelo-Gonzalez/The Cougar

With the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, students have spoken out about their opinions on gun control in the state and how this affects the safety of the campus. Some have begun to take action while others are sharing their views on social media.

Some students, like Deeds Not Words member Allyson Campos, took part in a protest against the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Houston. The convention, which advertises “14 acres of the latest guns,” took place on May 27-29 and Campos believes this to be insensitive.

“Because we live in a state that is open carry or permitless carry, I believe, obviously my fear has heightened,” Campos said. “It’s definitely a worry in the back of my mind as I’m walking to class.”

Those with a license to carry concealed handguns are allowed to do so on campus, as stated in the University’s “Campus Carry Policy.” Students like English sophomore Lilly Chipman believe Texas is behind when it comes to gun control, and don’t have confidence that the University has the capacity to handle an active shooting on campus.

“If the University could do more to prevent guns from being brought on campus that isn’t dependent on police presence, that’s exactly what I want,” Chipman said. “But I also think change certainly needs to happen at the state level, so that this doesn’t happen again anywhere in Texas.”

Other students, like media production junior Luiz Chavez, have prior experience with guns and believe in solutions aside from fully restricting guns. Chavez believes that while students and staff should not be allowed to carry guns on campus, teaching people about gun safety and respect is another aspect.

“I feel as though we should have programs in place at local police station that teach citizens about gun safety and how to respect the tool,” Chavez said. “Yes, guns fall into the wrong hands all the time but instead of restrictions we should teach people more about them.”

The Student Government Association held a candlelight vigil on May 27 for victims of the Uvalde shooting, rallying students together for speeches and quiet reflections.

news@thedailycougar.com

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“Students share opinions on gun control after Uvalde shooting” was originally posted on The Cougar

I was 14 when “DAMN.” (2017), Kendrick Lamar’s last album, came out. I begged my parents for $9.99 to buy the album on iTunes and sat in anticipation as the music downloaded. Lying in a hotel in Tucson, Arizona, in typical Lamar fashion, the protagonist of “DAMN.” was unexpectedly killed off in the first song. Terrified, I listened to the rest of the album, staring up at the popcorn hotel ceiling in shock. A blossoming fanatic, I was perplexed, terrified and, yes, addicted. 

Five years later, on May 13, Lamar released “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.” I listened, again, in a hotel room, immersed in the new sounds that Lamar had given us. 

Whenever Lamar drops music, listeners should be aware that immense artistic precision has been directed into the piece, and “Mr. Morale” is no exception. From the introductory track “United in Grief,” Lamar returns with an intricate and complex entrance back into the mainstream, analogous to the sonic chaos developed on Radiohead’s “Kid A.” Stepping back onto the stage as a new character, Lamar sounds conflicted, hurt and lost, turning to therapy to address trauma. As the album plays, listeners may realize that each track represents a different therapy session, each targeting various significant issues through the semi-fictional protagonist, Mr. Morale.

Courtesy of PGLang.

Kodak Black serves as a narrator and tour guide through the winding path of the album. The artist’s inclusion is highly controversial, as he was convicted of sexual assault in 2016. Kodak also identifies as a Black Hebrew Israelite, which is likely a significant reason for his symbolic inclusion on the album. Many questioned whether Kodak should be allowed to capitalize off of such features in light of his abusive history, but this theme of forgiveness through religion is probably a key reason for his inclusion as narrator, whether justified or not.

Family issues are the most prevalent topics throughout the album. In the fantastic “Father Time,” Lamar details the masculine expectations his father planted throughout his childhood, recalling when, “His momma died, I asked him why he goin’ back to work so soon?/ His first reply was, ‘Son, that’s life, the bills got no silver spoon.’” Lamar turns his experience into a teaching moment, encouraging other fathers’ “blessings be neutral to your toddlers.” Such acceptance of non-traditional gender roles and family dynamics is uncommon in hip-hop, yet Lamar’s activism persists later in the album, shedding light on topics rarely addressed in the genre.

In “Auntie Diaries,” Lamar recalls his ebbing relationship with his transgender uncle in scenic detail. One of the first mainstream rappers to publicly extend support to the transgender community, Lamar details his growth in understanding his relative’s identity. Simultaneously, Lamar, an artist well known for his Christian faith and religious themes, directly questions the dilettantish tendency of organized religious communities to ostracize LGBTQ+ members. When his cousin is called out publicly in church for his identity, Lamar interrupts the sermon, chiding “Mr. Preacherman, should we love thy neighbor?/ The laws of the land or the heart, what’s greater?” Through one song, Lamar explains his evolution in thinking from blind follower to thoughtful advocate.

However, his lyrical choices are controversial and have offended some fans, specifically in his use of an anti-gay slur. This decision divided many of his listeners, with several claiming he is not justified in using the word. Some listeners believe that “Auntie Diaries,” and likely more of “Mr. Morale,” is another fictional story, and should be treated as such. In a Variety review, Jem Aswad notes Lamar’s career-long tendency to “criticize his own biases and prejudices” instead of placing himself above the people he singles out. In the context of “Auntie Diaries,” Lamar humanizes himself in this manner by pointing out his own mistakes and shortcomings in relation to the acceptance of queer people. The New York Times review of the album has less patience for Lamar’s lyrics, calling his attempts “earnest but clunky” and his use of the slur a “faux pas.” While polarizing, this conversation fits into the larger debate around artistic freedom and acceptance of marginalized groups. Lamar further embraces trauma in his family later in the album.

In his most vulnerable song, “Mother I Sober,” Lamar reflects on the introspection he has gained in therapy. In his self-reflection, I find Lamar speaking differently than he has in his past work. Where he used to claim himself a prophet, a voice to influence the actions and values of his community back home, he now more often sees his own flaws and imperfect family history. In “Mother I Sober,” he delves into memories of his family’s experiences with abuse, which having been bottled up for years are now resurfacing through his therapy. 

Turning the conversation toward collective problems, Lamar uses the prevalence of abuse in Black families as an explanation for certain phenomena in hip-hop and Black culture, poetically prophesizing: “I know the secrets, every other rapper sexually abused/ I see ’em daily buryin’ they pain in chains and tattoos.” Such a narrative realization may explain Kodak Black’s presence on the album. Soon after, Lamar speaks in what can only be described as an exhausted voice, sounding as if someone else is speaking through him, setting free himself, his family and “all you abusers.” Lamar finally embraces the Christian philosophy he has lauded throughout his career in this forgiveness. With the Mr. Morale character, Lamar creates a new role for himself. As opposed to some of his past protagonists, he embodies Mr. Morale most personally, confidently addressing his flaws rather than hiding behind motifs and masks, as he has in the past. 

Kendrick Lamar is inarguably a generational artist, and with “Mr. Morale” and its intimate, theatrical feel, we are gifted seats to watch his personal musical production. Lamar no longer seems interested in tap dancing for the audience, and as the curtains begin to close on his monumental career, I wait patiently for the encore.

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