Okay, so I’m finally ready to talk about "Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers". It dropped in May, and I’ve been digesting it ever since. I don't think it's his best album, but it had the biggest impact on me, and that’s what I'm here to talk about.
The theme of the album felt directed toward personal growth, addressing personal and family trauma, and healing generational curses that plagued his family and coincidentally, many of ours… especially mine. Some of the stories in his songs mirrored mine or were similar. Here’s my highlights.
I got daddy issues, that’s on me! - Father Time
My pops and I have argued plenty over the years. I’m an adult now, and while I still don’t agree with or understand his choices, I had to come to terms with the fact that he made them and it’s the past. He talked so much about being a man, a man’s responsibilities, and what men do or don’t do. It was toxic at times, but that’s who he was, we talk more now, and I’m talking down off these toxic platforms that he raised me on & I'm attempting to free him from the shackles of misogyny (I have work to do). Meanwhile, I’m constantly making strides to take the lessons he taught me and amend them to how they fit the man I want to be.
“I’m sacrificing myself to start the healing.” - Mr. Morale
That resonated with my soul. I've been on this journey of self and familial exploration with this blog & now podcast. It has been enlightening, but it has also opened the doors for uncomfortable conversations with family members. It also shapes the way I view my specific family as well as the idea of what family should be. I feel like I’m putting myself out there, and I’m the one that feels the burn, but while I’m putting my hand In the proverbial fire, hopefully, those that read, listen, or talk to me will begin to heal.
Mother I Sober
I have family members that have been violated by other family members. Family members that have been touched by people next to kin (family friend). These stories go untold, these issues go unaddressed, and these traumas go unresolved. So how do I send my children out to spend the night when I know the opps are out? I tried to write, but now I'm down to talk, because shining light on darkness is how we heal. Sacrificing our comfort to heal the pain.
My insecurities gave way to vices, I talk about being a better man and a better husband, but this comes after the struggle it took to learn myself what type of man and husband I wanted to be, or even learn what it meant to hold these titles. The bottom is sobering, a loss can be sobering, but the truth is freeing and peaceful. I didn’t find peace until I found purpose.
This album told familiar stories, they were my own stories or stories I’ve heard. His lyrics depicted the lives of people close to me. I can’t even begin to imagine the healing he experienced while making this album, but it brought me some healing and enlightenment about how to move forward in my own journey,
