Music

Kendrick Lamar Is Finally Releasing A New Album After Five Years

'Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ will drop very, very soon.

by Millie Roberts  19 April 2022
Kendrick Lamar

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Kendrick Lamar has announced his upcoming album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers via Instagram.

The rapper shared a statement on Monday, stating that “all factual information for this release will come directly from this source only”, and confirming the new album will drop on May 13. “Appreciate Your Patience,” the letter was signed off with.

It’s the first release since his fourth studio DAMN. on Easter Friday in 2017, which he toured in Australia at Splendour In The Grass, and through a dedicated album tour in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide.

His fifth studio album comes after a handful of collabs and features in the years since, including masterminding the Black Panther soundtrack, and working with Beyoncé, 2 Chains, and Baby Keem, according to the Rolling Stone.

Lamar follows in the footsteps of Rihanna and Frank Ocean in his years-long hiatus, leaving fans in the dark until he responded to a tweet last month that joked he had officially retired on Monday.

Lamar originally plugged his corresponding website Oklama last August, where he said Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers would be his last with his long-term label TDE. “While the world around me evolves, I reflect on what matters the most. The life in which my words will land next,” he said at the time. “There’s beauty in completion. And always faith in the unknown.”

His announcement comes after the upcoming releases of Pusha T’s new album on April 22, Future’s on April, 29, and Jack Harlow’s on May 6.