Photo provided by Renell Medrano

Every generation or so, if its luckily, births a musical genius and there’s no one today who embodies that title more than rapper, songwriter and producer Kendrick Lamar.

His growth is exponential on every album released since striking “Section.80” gold a dozen years ago, then reaching the upper echelons of fame after “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,” taking a funk, jazz and neo-soul odyssey throughout “To Pimp A Butterfly” and continuing to dominate with the conscious hip-hop appeal of “Damn.”

However, the constant chart-topper, Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize-winner raised the stakes even further for the sprawling double album, “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers,” the subject of which filled up Milwaukee’s super fresh Fiserv Forum (prior to doing the same at the United Center on Friday, August 19) in what will go down in the books as a career-defining concert.

The initial screams and phone flashes probably came from simply being the presence of such greatness as Lamar played piano on “United In Grief,” then acted as a ventriloquist for a puppet bearing his likeness during “N95,” but as the nearly two-hour experience got underway, it gave everyone a deep dive into the soul of the superstar.

Easily the heaviest topical load he’s ever carried boasting less commercially accessible but constantly rewarding experiments, Lamar touched on everything from attempting to find life’s balance throughout “Rich Spirit” to the “daddy issues” of “Father Time” and several other examples of an ongoing therapy session he’s ready to share with the world.

As cathartic as they may have been for those experiencing similar situations, there was also a ton in between to make everyone forget their problems, including “HUMBLE.,” “King Kunta” and “B—-, Don’t Kill My Vibe,” which exuded arena-filling charisma while making the most of a giant runway he frequently utilized with an ensemble of interpretative dancers over the beats of a live band positioned below stage level.

It all reached a pinnacle as Lamar appeared in a plastic-wrapped box to symbolize a period of extreme self-examination that came during COVID, starting the set with “Alright” and raising up to the roof on the same platform by “Mirror,” though the surprises kept coming as he returned to the ground.

Support act and rising rapper Baby Keem came out for a series of killer collaborations with his mentor before turning it back over to the headliner for a finale suite from “Mr. Morale…” that found Lamar once again looking inward to pour back into an audience genuinely fulfilled by the performance, and perhaps more importantly, inspired by his fortitude.

For additional information on Kendrick Lamar, visit OKLAMA.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at Fiserv Forum include Post Malone (Sept. 15); Panic! At The Disco (Sept. 16); Chris Stapleton (Oct. 8); Carrie Underwood (Oct. 23) and Smashing Pumpkins (Oct. 30). For additional details, visit FiservForum.com.

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