Two weeks ago (April 18), Kendrick Lamar announced that his fifth studio album is arriving on May 13. The news confirmed that the follow-up to 2017’s DAMN. is titled Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. Lamar announced through a rare tweet (responding to a two-month comment) that sent fans to his Oklama.com website. The public was informed that only pgLang statements were to be sourced for accurate details and information surrounding the LP.

Oklama.com now suggests that Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers may be two separate albums. A photograph dated May 3 shows a hand, presumably Kendrick’s, holding two discs, hand-labeled “Morale” and “Steppers,” respectively. The discs are positioned atop a book with the full Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers title. No other information, such as a caption, was provided.

The Rumors Were Right. Kendrick Lamar DID Release 2 New Albums.

In 2021, it was reported that Kendrick Lamar’s next album would be his last with Top Dawg Entertainment. Kendrick’s relationship with TDE goes back to the mid-2000s, when K-Dot joined the roster spearheaded by his friend and Black Hippy band-mate Jay Rock.

If the two album suggestion is correct, a double-disc could potentially fulfill Kendrick’s TDE obligation in one disc, while launching his pgLang discography with the other disc. In 2016, another music star, Frank Ocean, released the visual LP Endless to fulfill obligations with Def Jam Records. Days later, he dropped Blonde, launching his Boys Don’t Cry imprint.

Where TDE Ranks Among Hip-Hop’s Greatest Record Labels

With Kendrick’s last album, DAMN., there was immediate speculation following the release that another album would arrive. As Ambrosia For Heads was among the very first to discover and report, that belief supported Kendrick Lamar’s concept of having two different musical experiences based on playing it in album sequence or reversing the tracklist.

Other legendary Hip-Hop artists to release double albums include Tupac, Biggie, Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, OutKast, JAY-Z, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, E-40, Kurupt, and 8Ball.

Kendrick Lamar Declares War On Hip-Hop’s Top 5 MCs

#BonusBeat: A 2021 episode of Ambrosia For Heads‘ What’s The Headline podcast that examines Kendrick Lamar’s exit and Top Dawg Entertainment’s rich legacy: