Now that Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers has been out for over a month, that otherworldly level of hype surrounding its gestation and subsequent birth seems to have subsided enough to look at the record in a more objective fashion. In doing so, I find that there are two genius-level inclusions in its lengthy runtime that deserve more of a light shone upon them.

I am referring to the sporadic samplings of author Eckhart Tolle on certain songs and Beth Gibbons’ voice on what may be the best track of the record, “Mother | Sober.” Though Kodak Black’s contributions – not to mention the chaotic couple’s back-and-forth on “We Cry Together,” achieved with the help of Taylour Paige – received more attention, the aforementioned pair on Lamar’s latest was what stuck with me the most.

My love of trip-hop has led me to the belief that Dummy, Portishead’s 1994 debut album, is one of the greatest ever conceived. This is the group that Beth Gibbons, its vocalist, rose to fame in. The album is a dated listen, sure, but the ethereality of Gibbons’ voice gliding over the muffled, yet punchy instrumentals made for a big impression on me. Gibbons has kept a low public profile in recent years, and Portishead is a project that’s more or less on life support, a time capsule of the ‘90s.

Her inclusion on this record was not some half-assed afterthought. While nothing is with Lamar, her feature surprised me. I tend to enjoy Lamar’s more demanding artistic choices, not least the ten-plus minute journeys of “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst,” and, to a greater extent, “Mortal Man.” While a track of this magnitude was nowhere to be found on Steppers, it should be noted that “Mother | Sober” is the longest piece here at just under seven minutes. Trip-hop, Portishead, and Gibbons all have a bit of a ‘love-it-or-hate-it’ quality to them, so while this track does not reach the heights of “Mortal Man,” it has a similar, challenging feel to it that I crave.

The fact that Gibbons can be heard on this veritable magnum opus of Steppers, then, is telling. It seems to suggest that this track will be an iron-clad moment in time for years to come, much as Dummy is almost thirty years on. Is it the biggest banger of the album? No. In fact, I doubt it will be the one track that most people will remember off of it. So what? For those generous enough to turn a willing ear when it comes on, little else on these two discs will satisfy.

Eckhart Tolle - German Author and Spiritual Teacher.

I found DAMN. to be lacking a bit in pushing the envelope with eccentric ideas and feature selections, which made Tolle’s voice all the more enjoyable upon first listen. Not long ago, I read a book of his, A New Earth – which I finished in a day. Its effects on me were at once profound and fundamental. It’s a “self-help” book, but that’s too cheesy a descriptor – it lifted me up and challenged me to look at the deepest parts of myself. That Lamar laced Tolle’s voice into this body of work is no accident. I remember first hearing this album front to back and suddenly recognizing the sound of Tolle talking about the “pain body,” a topic that A New Earth covers frequently. I perked up in surprise, pleased that this album had a brain of such magnitude complementing its creator’s.

While Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers is a fantastic album, part of me doubts that time will be as kind to it as it has been to, say, To Pimp a Butterfly. Sometimes, however, perfection and 100% ass-kicking misses the mark. To have two voices on this album that convey such a vulnerability means more to me, in many ways, than a track that breaks its back to knock me flat out on the pavement, like “King Kunta” for instance. Admitting one’s flaws (and one’s love for that most angelic of comedown siren calls) allows for a special kind of love for Lamar’s newest to blossom as the weeks following its release roll by.

Tyler Roland is a staff writer.

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