All hail king Kendrick Lamar

 Kendrick Lamar morphs into different celebrities.

Since Kendrick Lamar aka K.Dot last made an album, the world has had a global pandemic and two US presidents in power.

Kanye West has morphed into the richest black entertainer in America and Nicki Minaj and Rihanna fell pregnant, with the former siring a son.

The world has drastically changed since Kendrick released a full-length body of work. His last offering, the Pulitzer Prize-associated opus – DAMN – dropped in April 2017.

The artistes that have staked claim to relevance since have all shifted culture in some shape or form, hence their dominant presence in music is respected as such.

For Atlanta natives, Thugger, Future, Lil Baby, Gunna, 21 Savage and Lil Uzi Vert (from Philadelphia) – their alluring trap cuts and anthems have seen them become the voice of the current generation.

They have achieved multiple milestones through music, including a plethora of Top 10 records, and trailblazing album and concert sales.

They have earned their popularity and claim to fame as the leaders of the generation post the Drake- J. Cole-Kendrick Lamar era of rap (2010-2016).

And cemented it at that. Their recipe was countless releases of trap anthems that have become the conscience of nightclubs and social networks such as TikTok.

They have formulaic approaches using autotune, noisy bass-riveting music, and meaningless murmurs that cut for social media captions on Instagram.

Their polarising style has garnered them respect as the leaders that have wheelbarrowed rap to the echelons of popular music (pop).

Thereafter, a significant happening in music occurred in 2019 when Kendrick – one of the last of a dying breed, the bonafide philosophical poet, the authentic brooding superstar was nowhere to be seen, heard, or even imagined.

Social media posts from Kendrick are scarce. Songs or sightings are few and far between. Public appearances are null and void.

The year 2019 saw the rise of Pop Smoke – a 19-year-old deep-voiced Brooklyn rapper from Syracuse, New York that emerged similarly to the infamous 2003’s 50 Cent takeover that saw the latter go on to become a diamond-selling rapper. He sold 10 million album copies in the US alone.

Pop Smoke was a revelation. He was an outlier. A Drill music pariah. A superstar. But he was not Kendrick Lamar.

In 2020, the world was burning and in turmoil when the Black Lives Matter movement was reinvigorated following the killing of Minnesota local, George Floyd. The masses were indignant.

On its knees was hip hop that had been infiltrated by boisterous, visceral, and mediocre music packaged to make us ignorant, irresponsible, and cater to our twerking and self-destruction needs.

Hip hop so desperately needed a voice. Rumblings of Kendrick’s 2015 Alright in the protest reverberated and the undertone was clear. Inspired, authentic, and resonating hip hop that touched on real issues had deserted the culture.

A constant theme, Kendrick has been raconteuring through his most recent LP’s – To Pimp A Butterfly, Untitled Unmastered, and DAMN. He has been crooning, hurting, and sharing his innermost thoughts on a need for self-introspection as black people in a bid to generate positive outcomes in society. Themes of infidelity, mass murder, police brutality, betrayal, recklessness, negativity and much more – as causes for the deterioration of black people.

Fast forward to 2021, a Kendrick verse appears on his cousin producer and artiste, Baby Keem’s single, Family Ties.

In the verse, King Kunta (an alias for Kendrick) alludes to certain topics that gave us a peek at his current mental state.

“I have been ducking the pandemic. I have been ducking the social gimmicks. I have been ducking the overnight activists. I am not a trending topic, I am a prophet,” he says in the verse interpreting he is not part of the clout-chasing class of rappers who profit from music that promotes violence, money and sex.

He adds’ “My mental is amazing, brother. Pop out only on occasions, brother,” seemingly addressing his absenteeism from social events and social media.

In the same year, Kendrick also shared some press releases apart from performing at the annual Day N Vegas Festival in November last year (his first performance in four years).

The press releases, carefully shared, hints of a Kendrick return to the stage to entertain his legion of fans.

In a letter seen on the speculative website Oklama.com, Kendrick updated fans: “He spends days with fleeting thoughts. Writing. Listening. Collecting Old Beach Cruisers.”

But the gold in the dirt among the cluster of words in the letter was, “As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years.”

As expected with Kendrick, any slight communication he publicises goes viral. He announced a new album in the summer of 2021.

The lead up to the new record was only further fuelled by his scorching February Super Bowl 2022 half-time performance, as he impersonated his new persona - Oklama.

And on the week of May 13, his first single – an immersive Marvin Gaye “I Want You” - sampled record gifted us Heart Part 5.

In the song, Kendrick offers a stark take on culture today, channels Kobe Bryant, O.J. Simpson, Nipsey Hussle, Will Smith, Ye & Jussie Smollett.

The song and visuals have drawn polar opinions from the internet.

Kendrick is known for marching to his own rhythm, believing in his own craft rather than following trends - a huge ingredient to his successes.

And today, the 14-time Grammy Award winner releases his fifth LP, Mr Morale & The Big Steppers.

Musically, it is touted to be the release of the decade. Welcome back, King Kendrick!