Kendrick Lamar returned this year with his latest studio LP. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers arrived on May 13 and debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
The Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers tracklist includes “We Cry Together” with Zola actress Taylour Paige. The six-minute visuals screened at a theater in Los Angeles theater from June 3 to June 9.
Dave Free and Kendrick Lamar’s pgLang company reportedly played “We Cry Together” in the Laemmle Royal Theater once a day. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “We Cry Together” is in consideration for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.
Kendrick Lamar earned his lone Oscar nomination for 2018’s “All The Stars” with SZA. The Black Panther: The Album single lost the Best Original Song trophy to Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s “Shallow” from A Star Is Born.
Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers became Kendrick Lamar’s fourth Number One on the Billboard 200. The project totaled 295,000 first-week units and set Apple Music’s record for the most first-day streams of 2022.
Music producer Sounwave recently stated that Kendrick Lamar is already working on the follow-up to Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. Soundwave said, “There’s no breaks. There’s no such thing as a vacation when you’re doing what you love. Everything you do is what you love to do, so you’re excited.”
Before Kendrick Lamar finds out if he will earn an Oscar nom for “We Cry Together,” the Los Angeles-bred emcee will head into the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards with seven nominations. Lamar tied Jack Harlow and Lil Nas X for the most nods this year.
Two Distant Strangers, starring Hip Hop artist Joey Bada$$, won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film at the 93rd Academy Awards. Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed’s The Long Goodbye took home the honor in March.