With five years having passed since the release of Kendrick Lamar’s last studio album, DAMN., fans have been waiting, albeit impatiently, for a new body of work from Compton’s rap savior. Now, the Hip-Hop world can begin the countdown to the arrival of Kendrick’s forthcoming album, titled Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, which is slated for release on May 13.
News of the forthcoming project was revealed when the rapper responded to a Twitter post speculating that he must’ve retired being that he hasn’t released an album in so long. Sharing a link to his website, oklama.com, which included a press release assuring fans that the album was indeed on the way and that “all factual information for this release will come directly from this source only,” Kendrick concluded the statement by thanking fans for their patience, but did not divulge further details.
Since the release of DAMN. in 2017, Kendrick has remained relatively quiet on the musical front, but sporadically popped up over the past few years. Curating and appearing on the Black Panther soundtrack the following year, K.Dot has since lent his talents to tracks by Sir (“Hair Down”), Dreamville (“Under the Sun”) Busta Rhymes, 2 Chainz (“Momma I Hit a Lick”), Raphael Saadiq’s (“Rearview”), and Baby Keem (“Range Brothers” and “Family Ties”).
First teasing the possibility of what he referred to as his “final TDE album” back in August 2021, the Superbowl 2022 halftime show performer has yet to reveal any of the collaborations or producers that could possibly appear on Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, which is undoubtedly one of the more anticipated albums in all of music for 2022.