"Keisha's Song (Her Pain)" from the debut album Section 80. It's a melancholic tale of an underage prostitute in Los Angeles ("She got the features of a woman, but only 17") who has to navigate a dangerous world of wealthy, unscrupulous johns and a Dirty Cop who agrees to not arrest her if she services him. Ultimately Keisha's luck runs out and she's unceremoniously raped and murdered with her body dumped in the street. Throughout the song Kendrick notes that "Rosa Parks never a factor" when Keisha is performing these acts to highlight the disconnect between the glory of the Civil Rights Movement versus the ongoing harsh reality of street life for minorities in America. The real Wham Line, however, comes when Kendrick reveals that this song was intended for his younger sister, presumably as a cautionary tale:
"My little sister, 11
I looked her right in the face
The day that I wrote this song
Sat her down, and pressed 'Play'"
"Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" and the skit before it. The sister to Keisha from Section.80, who calls out Kendrick for "judging her" and proudly proclaims her life as a prostitute, before ranting how she doesn't want Kendrick's help before slowly fading away...
Worse with the first verse, which features the brother of Kendrick's friend who was shot and killed in "Swimming Pools (Drank)" who appreciates his love for his brother but tells him the life of Compton forever has him and pleads calmly to Kendrick to tell his story and the line "And if I die before your album drops, I hope-(GUNSHOTS). Fuck.
The ending of To Pimp a Butterfly. "What's your perspective on that? Pac? Pac? Pac?!"
"FEEL." off of DAMN. Hearing Kendrick lament the difficulties of insecurities and self loathe of being a positive influence in people's eyes, leading to him wonder that for how much he does good, does anybody do the same for him?
"The Heart Part 5" details Kendrick's love-hate relationship with "the culture", describing it to be full of toxicity, exploitation, and institutionalized oppression, yet still sincerely wanting its approval and wishing the best for it. The music video expands on this by having his face morph into that of other black celebrities with torrid reputations, contextualizing certain verses as reflecting their own controversies — Kanye West being taken advantage of through his struggles with mental illness, Will Smith lashing out at Chris Rock, Jussie Smollett's hate crime hoax, etc. The final verses are delivered through the late Kobe Bryant and Nipsey Hussle, two lives whose various impacts on the world were tragically cut short, with Kendrick delivering a long passage as Nip offering vicarious comfort and encouragement to his loved ones and fans after his death, and even forgiveness for his murderer.
And to the killer that sped up my demise I forgive you, just know your soul's in question I seen the pain in your pupil when that trigger had squeezed And though you did me gruesome, I was surely relieved I completed my mission, wasn't ready to leave But fulfilled my days, my Creator was pleased
The overall tone of Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers is this, simply because Kendrick wants to be the "savior" that everyone sees him, but he is human, therefore he can't be that figure everyone wants him to be. This is best exemplified with the final track "Mirror", where Kendrick apologizes to the listener that he isn't perfect and can only chose himself in the end.
"We Cry Together" is a demonstration of "what the world sounds like"... presented as a brutally loud 6-minute-long argument between Kendrick and Taylour Paige. More than most Quarreling Songs, the sheer profanity and anger they hurl at each other manages to be deeply unsettling (many critics comparing it to Eminem's "Kim", a song about murder) and also utterly heartbreaking, strangely as a result of just how honest they're being in their anguish.
"Mother I Sober", which more or less focuses on the real-life trauma that Generational Trauma can cause one person, with Kendrick describing how a family member was accused of molesting him and despite saying he didn't, that family member still was ostracized and shamed for it. And then it goes into more tear-jerker moments when Kendrick reveals that his mother herself was terrified of him being molested since she was sexually assaulted back then as well.
