Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers

Renell Medrano photographed Kendrick Lamar at home with his family for the cover of his fifth album. Kendrick stands in a white T-shirt wearing a crown of thorns, holding his and Whitney Alford's daughter, while Alford sits on the bed behind them cradling an infant, in a warm, dimly lit bedroom with dark walls.

The album, released after a five-year gap, deals with therapy, generational trauma, infidelity and the burden of being treated as a saviour. The crown of thorns places that burden on Kendrick's head in plain sight, and putting his partner and children on the cover made his private life part of the subject. The Line of Best Fit called the record "so vulnerable and exposing (including using his family for the artwork)."

The artwork was revealed on 11 May 2022, two days before the album came out on pgLang, Top Dawg, Aftermath and Interscope. It debuted at number one and later won the Grammy for Best Rap Album, and Medrano's family portrait stands among the most discussed covers in Kendrick's catalogue.