Kendrick Lamar May Have An Album Coming Out In April

If you've been hotly anticipating the follow-up to To Pimp A Butterfly, there might be some clues that point to a new Kendrick Lamar album. On Thursday night, Lamar made a cryptic post of a "IV" on his Instagram, wiping the rest of his account clear of any content (it has since been removed). The rapper then released a new track titled "The Heart Part 4," and taking a close look at the lyrics, it seems to point to the release of more music. In fact, Lamar's next album release date might be as soon as next month.

In "The Heart Part 4," the rapper issues a lengthy threat to all his competition in the hip hop world, boasting that he's the top of the top and certainly not one to be messed with. The tamest of it all comes way of the chorus with, "Don't tell a lie on me/I won't tell the truth 'bout you" (and the rest is... a bit more explicit). But what's important to look out for is the closing lyric, which says. "You know what time it is, ante up, this is in forever/Y'all got 'til April the 7th to get ya'll sh*t together."

I don't think it's crazy to assume that Lamar is literally announcing that his peers need to straighten up because that's when his new album is dropping.

Another hint? Midway through the song, he raps about how he's put out critically acclaimed album after critically acclaimed album: "I said it's like that/drop one classic, came right back'/Nother classic, right back/My next album, the whole industry on the ice pack." He's clearly pointing to the success of his first three records (Section.80, good kid, m.a.a.d. city, and To Pimp a Butterfly respectively) and teasing that this upcoming album is going to follow suit.

And there is definitely a stress that this will indeed be an album versus something more nominal such as a a new single or a new music video, which are also things that get a whole lot of teasing in the music industry, social media style. The caveat is this: putting bold promises in a new song for anything less than an audio-video masterpiece makes zero sense. When something like this enters bonafide lyrics, you best believe a whole new body of work is going to be birthed into the world.

Of course, there's nothing verified to date, so we'll just have to wait 'till Apr. 7 and see what Lamar brings us. For now, feel free to listen to "The Heart Part 4," and get a taste of what could be already on the way.