The wait for a new Kendrick Lamar album is almost over, with his next album ‘Mr Morale & The Big Steppers’ set to drop on 13 May.
Kendrick broke the news on Twitter by quote-tweeting a fan’s comment that the MC had “officially retired”, alongside a link to his website that contains a press release for the new project.
On his website, Kendrick wrote:
“As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years. The Struggles. The Success. And most importantly, the Brotherhood. May the Most High continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators. He added, “There’s beauty in completion. And always faith in the unknown.”
It’s been 5 years since the rapper released his last album — DAMN (no pun intended) — for which he received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in 2018 (becoming the first-ever rapper to win the award) in addition to 5 Grammys. Since then, the Compton-native has largely kept out of the spotlight — though he’s definitely not retired:
- He was responsible for producing and curating the Black Panther soundtrack (2018)
- He received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song (2019)
- He spent the summer of 2021 showering his cousin, Baby Keem, with features for the latter’s album The Melodic Blue
- He performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in February this year (alongside an array of legends including Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Eminem)
- And just last month, he and Keem took home a Grammy for Best Rap Performance for Family Ties
Usually, when an artist gets ready to release a new project, we have some small idea at least as to who the guest features could be — whether that be through snippets, leaks or an official tracklist. But so far, there is no information about anyone who could potentially be working with Kendrick right now. And with the 34-year old being as reclusive as he is, it is very possible that we will only find out who is on the album when it actually drops.
Our guess is that Baby Keem and perhaps Kendrick’s peers at TDE will feature, but it’s also possible that Kendrick might take on the project alone — we will have to wait and see.
Until the drop date, keep your eyes peeled on Kendrick’s website. As the press release states, “All factual information for this release will come directly from this source only”. But for now, we can certainly have some fun speculating (I mean, we have to pass the time somehow!)
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