Kendrick Lamar Fuels Album Rumors with 'IV' Post
Did Kendrick Lamar just announce a new album?
Early Thursday (March 23), K-Dot took to Instagram to post a mysterious black-and-white image that simply reads: “IV.”
The post doesn’t have a caption and all other images have since been deleted from K-Dot’s verified IG account.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BR-YXjeha56/
Almost instantly, fans took this as an album announcement. After all, this would also be his fourth project released through Aftermath/Interscope/Top Dawg, following his debut, 2012’s good kid, m.A.A.d. city, the follow-up, 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly, and last year’s b-sides project, untitled unmastered.
Discounting the untitled unmastered. compilation — which was comprised of To Pimp a Butterfly sessions — this could still be deemed his fourth project. That is, if one counts Kendrick’s independently-released Section.80 project, which was unleashed prior to his Aftermath/Interscope deal being public, back in 2011.
Some have also speculated that “IV” could reference Black Hippy, a group made up of four Top Dawg MCs: Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock. Others have wondered if this is merely a song title.
IV ???
— Ab-Soul (@abdashsoul) March 23, 2017
If this is, in fact, a K-Dot album announcement, it follows a recent New York Times interview, in which the Compton MC broke down its inspiration.
“I think now, how wayward things have gone within the past few months, my focus is ultimately going back to my community and the other communities around the world where they’re doing the groundwork,” he said. “To Pimp a Butterfly was addressing the problem. I’m in a space now where I’m not addressing the problem anymore. We’re in a time where we exclude one major component out of this whole thing called life: God. Nobody speaks on it because it’s almost in conflict with what’s going on in the world when you talk about politics and government and the system.”
At the time of the interview, he was asked if these topics would influence his new material. His reply: “It’s very urgent.”
Kendrick is scheduled to headline both weekends of Coachella on April 16 and April 23, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he had new material ready by the festival.