Dear Black & White reader,

You — like many other music lovers — may have heard some murmurs about the imminent release of Kendrick Lamar’s new album. But you might not be completely up to speed on the status of this new development — so where are we at right now with Kendrick? 

Here’s the SparkNotes version of Dot’s album rollout:

On August 20, Kendrick released a cryptic online message titled “nu thoughts” to his fans under the alias “Oklama,” and promised that he’d see us “soon enough.” Months of silence followed that announcement. Ok man. Thanks for that. 

In recent weeks — after he broke his silence —  he finally began posting more thoughts to his website, which increased speculation among fans about his upcoming work. So far, we have a picture of two CDs, the album cover, the title and release date. 

May 13th. 2022. Kendrick. is. dropping. “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers.”

Time to speculate:

Starting with his very first album, Kendrick has released a new version of a single called “The Heart” prior to each album’s release. The fifth edition of this tradition did not fail to excite listeners — its jazzy, funk-esque beat parallells his most critically acclaimed work yet, “To Pimp a Butterfly.”

The music video for the latest version of the single and the album itself have both also shaken up the music world. The video depicts Kendrick as different black pop icons — like Will Smith and Nipsey Hussle — using deep fake technology to replicate their features, while the cover art for the single is a picture of the six hands of those individuals referenced in the video. Its eerie appearance truly matches the vibe of the video and song.

The title of his new work is “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers,” a very ambiguous name that leaves much room for speculation. 

It forces listeners to ask many questions: Who are Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers? Is there a conflict between the two? Is Mr. Morale even a real person or simply a personified code of ethics?

I digress. As of now, this is all we know. Kendrick’s approach to this rollout has been exhilarating, frustrating, unique but very in line with his mysterious public image. He spontaneously broke months of silence and taken a very reserved approach to this rollout. 

Still, as a listener and somewhat of a Kendrick stan, I can only speculate and patiently wait for the album.

My prediction is that it will be a masterpiece — something above the level of his other works, but in a new style. Since Kendrick is a dialed-in genius, the creativity and nuance of this album will likely be off-the-charts. 

While I predict that the album will garner less mainstream appeal, it will end up a critically acclaimed work nonetheless. But at the end of the day, who knows? All we can do is sit back and enjoy the show.

I’ll give my thoughts on the album after its release.