Kendrick Lamar’s intimate and unapologetically dense double LP Mr. Morale & The Big Stepper has gone on to claim BBC Radio 6Music’s Album of the Year 2022 title. The news followed weeks of running a behind-the-scenes poll, with every 6Music presenter and their teams casting their votes. The station broadcast the complete Top 10 countdown throughout the morning of November 29th, 2022, and the excitement built until the winning title was announced on The Lauren Laverne Show.
This isn’t just one more award for Kendrick but an achievement that reverberates across a station with vast and wildly varied taste. As Mary Anne Hobbs said: “I think it would be fair to say it’s pretty rare that one artist could unite the entire 6 Music family, with our diversity of tastes and likes. But Kendrick is unmatched, and with Mr Morale & The Big Steppers, he’s done it.
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Kendrick didn’t release an album this year, but he performed open-heart surgery of the soul. Vulnerable, audacious, occasionally awkward, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers pulls no punches. It’s storytelling at its most potent, a morose maze of trauma, guilty memories, second-guessing, and contrition tucked inside elaborate beats and genre-traversing production.
Samantha Moy, Head of BBC Radio 6 Music, added: “We’re thrilled to be honouring Kendrick and celebrating the rewarding work of some amazing artists who have shone on the support of our passionate presenters throughout 2022. Congratulations to all of our chosen artists and in particular to Kendrick Lamar for his critically acclaimed Album.”
Then again, by placing Kendrick at No. 1, the rest of the Top 10 is an indication of just how varied and forward-thinking 6Music’s taste is. Yard Act’s punchy debut The Overload was in at No. 2, and the always-brilliant Kae Tempest, right at No. 3. Also, brash Welsh sensation Gwenno, and Brighton pop noiseniks Wet Leg catch well-deserved slots on the list, which is as adventurous as it is thrilling.
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