Mr Morale & the Big Steppers is the upcoming fifth studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. Set to be released on May 13, 2022, it will be Lamar's first full-length album release in four years, following the Black Panther soundtrack. The album is expected to be released in association with PGLang and Top Dawg Entertainment; Lamar has stated that the album will be his last with TDE.
Background
In December 2020, the Roskilde Festival announced that Lamar would be headlining the festival in 2021, noting that "new material [was] on the way".[2][3] On April 14, 2021, during an interview with Complex in commemoration of the fourth anniversary of Damn, Lamar's engineer MixedByAli was asked if the album would arrive in 2021 and replied: "It might, it might, you never know".[4][5]
In a blog post on August 20, 2021, Lamar announced that he was in the process of producing his final album under the Top Dawg Entertainment label, writing:
I spend most of my days with fleeting thoughts. Writing. Listening. And collecting old Beach cruisers. The morning rides keep me on a hill of silence. I go months without a phone. Love, loss, and grief have disturbed my comfort zone, but the glimmers of God speak through my music and family. While the world around me evolves, I reflect on what matters the most. The life in which my words will land next. 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 Highest continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators. As I continue to pursue my life's calling. 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.[6]
On January 27, 2022, Billboard reported that a single release on February 4 or 11 was possible before Lamar performed at the Super Bowl LVI halftime show.[7] This did not happen.
Release and promotion
On April 18, 2022, Lamar announced the album's name and its release date of May 13, 2022, through a PGLang-headed letter.[8][9] The website was also updated with a new page called "The Heart", containing 399 empty computer folders, indicating a possible release of "The Heart Part 5", a continuation of Lamar's "The Heart" song series.[10] On May 3, 2022, Lamar teased the release of the album with a photo that appears to show the master copy of the finished album, from which all published copies are derived.[11]
On May 8, 2022, the fifth part of Lamar's "The Heart" song series, "The Heart Part 5", was released to streaming services, with an accompanying music video being released on Lamar's YouTube channel.
On May 11, 2022, Lamar revealed the album's cover through his social media accounts.
