Rapper and record producer Kendrick Lamar will release a long-awaited new album on May 13, five years after his Grammy-winning album Slim.
Lamar revealed the date and title of the new album, Mr Morale and the Big Stepson his site Oklama.comwhich launched last August with an image of a folder and referenced Lamar producing his “latest TDE album” for the Top Dawg Entertainment label.
Kendrick Lamar receives the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.Credit:PA
This week’s announcement was similarly low-key, with a document detailing only the new album’s name and release date, along with a note that “all factual information for this release will come directly from this source only.”
Lamar, 34, most recently performed at the Super Bowl in February alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and 50 Cent, but so far has been tight-lipped about the exit brand new music.
Slim won Best Rap Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards, while the album’s lead single Humble won Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video. Another song from the album, Loyaltyfeaturing Rihanna, won Best Rap/Sung Performance.
Lamar was due to headline Glastonbury Festival in 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic led to its cancellation. At the same time, he launched the “multilingual and artist-friendly” company pgLang with former TDE co-chairman Dave Free to represent artists.
One year after its release Slim, Lamar received the Pulitzer Prize for Music, making him the first musician outside of the classical and jazz genres to receive the award. At the time, award administrator Dana Canedy said “the time has come” and that the prestigious award “shines hip-hop in a completely different light”. The judges’ decision was, according to The New York Timesunanimous.
“We are very proud of this selection. This means that the judging panel and the council’s judging system worked as it should – the best work received a Pulitzer Prize,” Canedy said.
