After five long years, Kendrick Lamar is finally about to return with a new album.
On Monday afternoon, he updated his website oklama.com with a statement that revealed he is, in fact, not retiring. “Appreciate your patience,” the end of his Michael Jordan-esque press release read, after revealing his album’s impending arrival.
Keeping track of Kendrick’s very subtle, very quiet moves has always been difficult. He barely makes appearances outside of his musical performances, and outside of occasional rap verses (like his features on Baby Keem’s The Melodic Blue) we rarely hear his voice. Despite moving in silence, though, Kendrick has still been leaving subtle bread crumbs along the way, cluing us in on what the new music might sound like, and how his “love, loss, and grief” have impacted his musical process.
Kendrick’s long-awaited album is only a month away, there are plenty of clues to over-analyze and dissect, so we put together a list outlining everything we know about his fifth solo studio.