Worldwide Steppers

Album: Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022)
Charted: 19
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Worldwide Steppers" finds Kendrick Lamar covering a wide range of topics, including an insight into his relatively reclusive life since the release of Damn, and his reflections on infidelity.
  • The song title does not appear in the lyrics, though Kodak Black refers to the "big stepper" in the intro. A "big stepper" refers to someone who gets the job done and is respected within the community. One assumes, therefore, "worldwide steppers" are global high-fliers. However, it's unclear how this links in with the song's themes.
  • After Kodak Black's narration, Lamar spits the chorus, centering it on cancel culture. He states that we are all "killers," or to put it another way, it's human nature to point out the failure of others in order to feel superior. Kodak Black's presence on this song and three other Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers tracks surprised many because of his multiple criminal convictions. Lamar is refusing to denounce the Florida rapper for his past mistakes.
  • During the first verse, Lamar reveals he suffered a two-year writer's block,

    Writer's block for two years, nothin' moved me
    Asked God to speak through me, that's what you hear now
    The voice of yours truly


    The 1,855-day gap between Lamar's previous solo album Damn and Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers was in part because he struggled for a long time to create any new art. It wasn't until the rapper turned to the Almighty to speak through him that the floodgates opened.
  • The second verse finds Lamar assessing his experiences of having sex with white women. When his fiancée, Whitney Alford, questions his lust addiction, the rapper attributes it to retaliation for the white man's historic oppression of the black community.
  • In the third verse, Lamar focuses on both the shortcomings of society and his own failures. The latter includes a toy drive he organized.

    I caught a couple of bodies myself, slid my community
    My last Christmas toy drive in Compton handed out eulogies
    Not because the rags in the park had red gradient
    But because the high blood pressure flooded the caterin'
    So what's the difference 'tween your life when hiding motives?


    The food Lamar provided may have contributed to health complications among the attendees.
  • Tae Beast and Sounwave's production samples "Breakthrough" by The Funkees throughout, and "Look Up, Look Down" by Soft Touch and "When There Is No Cheese at the Cookout" by Radel Ortiz during the third verse.
  • While longtime Top Dawg Entertainment beatmaker Sounwave produced multiple Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers tracks, this is Tae Beast's only contribution to the album.
  • Kendrick Lamar performed the song live for the first time on July 19, 2022, at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. It was one of seven Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers songs he premiered during the concert, which was the first date of his The Big Steppers' world tour.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Joe Jackson

Joe JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

Song Cities

Song CitiesMusic Quiz

Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.

Art Alexakis of Everclear

Art Alexakis of EverclearSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.

Jonathan Edwards - "Sunshine"

Jonathan Edwards - "Sunshine"They're Playing My Song

"How much does it cost? I'll buy it?" Another songwriter told Jonathan to change these lyrics. Good thing he ignored this advice.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."