Thirteen-time Grammy winner Kendrick Lamar has made his musical return after more than three years of no releases. The new single, “Family Ties,” features Lamar on a song with Baby Keem, his cousin. According to the St. Louis American, Lamar also recently revealed on his website that he’s planning to release a new album soon and that this will be his last album with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE).
SZA, ScHoolboy Q, Isaiah Rashad, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock are just a few of the other artists that are members of TDE. According to TheDowsers, Jay Rock was the first to join the label in the early 2000’s. Lamar joined him not long after in 2004. The announcement of Lamar’s next album being his last with TDE comes as a surprise since he was one of the original members. Lamar has not said if this will be his last album ever or just his final album release with TDE; however, many think this will be his last album before retirement.
Lamar’s announcement was posted to Oklama.com on August 20, 2021: “As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years. Signed, Oklama.” On the same day he also posted the following picture and link to Oklama.com on his Twitter and Instagram.
On the website, along with a note from Kendrick, there’s a picture of him working on the next album in the studio.
NME.com announced a few days ago that “Lamar has registered a host of new songs with ASCAP” (the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers)(below). This indicates that Kendrick Lamar’s next album could be coming very soon.