Surprise, Surprise. Kendrick Lamar’s New Album is Out Now! (News)

In yet another sign of the ever-changing record business in the digital age, Top Dawg Entertainment has delivered a very welcomed surprise to the Hip-Hop world. Kendrick Lamar’s new album, To Pimp A Butterfly, which was originally slated for release on March 23, is now fully available for purchase.

Nothing about the roll out for this album has been conventional. Kendrick has made a select few appearances over the last few months, including a couple of visits to LA DJ Big Boy. And, while lead single “i” was in heavy rotation last year, its follow up, “The Blacker the Berry” was far from radio-friendly. Then, the album was announced cryptically on March 6th, simply by way of a tweet from Kendrick with a link to an iTunes page with no title, a tracklist with only one song identified and no album cover. Since that date, the Internet has been ablaze with the revelation of any details of the album–the cover art, the track listing and tidbits from unreleased interviews.

iTunes Festival At SXSW - Night 2

Now, the coup de grace is the sneak attack release. No details on the early release date have been confirmed, but Top Dawg did send this poignant tweet:

In any case, you can purchase Kendrick Lamar’s long-awaited To Pimp a Butterfly here. The album can also be streamed in full on Spotify. Help support TDE in their goal to sell a million copies in one week.

Related: Do Remember: When Charles Hamilton Passed The Mic To An Unknown Kendrick Lamar (Video)