new kung fu kenny

Kendrick Lamar’s New Album Is Finally Coming, Alright?

Photo: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/Shutterstock

As Kid Capri declared at the beginning of “ELEMENT,” “New Kung Fu Kenny!” No, for real — Kendrick Lamar actually, finally announced a new studio album. After five years of random features, movie soundtracks, and “at-service” companies (?!?) following his last album, 2017’s DAMN., K.Dot is back. The rapper announced that his new album, which he previously teased as his last for label Top Dawg Entertainment, will be out May 13. (Talk about a Taurus-season indulgence.) And when it comes to titles, Kendrick 5 even has To Pimp a Butterfly beat. The new album is called Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. Lamar announced the album via his website, oklama.com, on a note complete with pgLang letterhead. The announcement caps off years of speculation as to when we’d get new Kendrick — including, recently, that he’d debut something new during his one performance of 2021 or his Super Bowl halftime show appearance in February. And before you get to speculating about singles, features, or anything else, note the bottom of Lamar’s memo: “All factual information for this release will come directly from this source only.” Guess it’s back to the waiting game.

Kendrick Lamar’s New Album Is Finally Coming, Alright?