Kendrick Lamar Ends Hiatus For New Album 'Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers'

Kendrick Lamar is stepping back into the studio. The celebrated artist released his previous album, “DAMN,” in 2017, and not much was heard from him after. The album garnered him several awards, including five Grammys, a Pulitzer, and others.

Since “DAMN,” the artist has had a low profile in the music scene, excluding some live sets and guest appearances. Lamar notably performed alongside other music icons in the 2022 Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show. He also featured in Baby Keem’s recent album, “Range Brothers.”

The Grammy winner announced his new album, “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” release date in more recent news. The artist reportedly replied to a tweet by a fan that read, “Kendrick Lamar is officially retired,” with a link that showed a document displayed on his oklama website.

Lamar has kept a low profile these last few years. Besides the occasional guest appearances and some live sets, the artist has steered clear of the music scene. However, all that will change next month.

Using a rather unconventional means, the Pulitzer-winning artist announced the arrival of his latest album, “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” on May 13. In a document posted to his oklama website, Lamar revealed his album release date and the title.

It read, “The following statement was released today by oklama, through his company pgLang at 11:00 a.m. PT in Loss Angeles, CA.” The document then added that all “factual information for this release will come directly from this source only.”

In a previously released PDF on the same website, Lamar talked about the forthcoming album, revealing that it would be his last time working with Top Dawg Entertainment, his longtime record label. He previously launched his own record company, pgLang, back in 2020 with his manager, Dave Free as the co-founder.

The document posted in August 2021 read, “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. As I continue to pursue my life’s calling.”

The “All the Stars” artist also thanked his fans for thinking about him and hoped to see them soon. He concluded, “There’s beauty in completion. And always faith in the unknown. Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts. I’ve prayed for you all. See you soon enough.”

The last album Lamar worked on was “DAMN,” released in 2017. The album earned the artist a whopping five Grammy awards, a Pulitzer Prize for music, and several other awards. His chart-topping, seven times platinum-certified single, “Humble,” was also part of the album.

A year later, Lamar joined the creators of the “Black Panther” soundtrack along with artists like The Weeknd, Khalid, SZA, and several others. His song with SZA, “All The Stars,” was also a part of the album. The “Black Panther” soundtrack went on to win its share of Grammys.

Lamar recently joined the band of performers for the 2022 Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show in February. The event was held at the California musicians’ native SoFi Stadium and had music icons like Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre, Eminem, 50 Cent, and Anderson Paak in attendance.

Back in 2021, fans got a taste of Lamar’s musical prowess again when he was featured in his cousin Baby Keem’s album. In the album titled “The Melodic Blue,” Lamar was featured in two songs, “Range Brothers” and “Family Ties.”

“Family Ties” earned the “Its On Again” artist another Grammy award for Best Rap Performance. The features only served to tease his fans and make them even more impatient for his full return to the studio.

Via Variety, Keem talked about his time recording with Lamar, revealing that he looked up to the rapper a lot. “I feel like often it’s hard to find someone to look up to that you actually care about, so having that in my corner is huge for me.” The 21-year-old is currently signed to pgLang.