Kendrick Lamar's 2026 Return

This new project will mark a four-year gap since his last release, 2022's critically acclaimed double album "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers." That record debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, won the Grammy for Best Rap Album, and was Lamar's final release with Top Dawg Entertainment. The J. Cole feature is the culmination of over a decade of anticipation from fans for a joint project between the two artists. The rappers have teased a full collaboration album for years, releasing a pair of "Black Friday" remixes in 2015 where they rapped over each other's beats. Talk of a joint album dates back to the early 2010s, with tracks like "Temptation" and "Shock The World" being recorded but never officially released. J. Cole has recently played some of these unreleased collaborations on his "Inevitable" audio series, renewing hope for a larger project. While the J. Cole pairing has a long history, the collaboration with Nicki Minaj is a first for the two artists. Despite their respective reigns in hip-hop, they have never officially appeared on a track together. In a 2020 Queen Radio episode, Minaj expressed her admiration for Lamar's talent and said she looked forward to working with him. Lamar had previously shown appreciation for a name-drop from Minaj in her song "Make Love." The upcoming album will be Kendrick Lamar's second to be released via pgLang, the at-service company and record label he co-founded with former TDE president Dave Free.