It seems we could be one step closer to one of the most anticipated albums of 2017.
TDE artist Kendrick Lamar wiped his Instagram profile of all previous posts overnight, replacing them with a mysterious image of the roman numeral for four, “IV.”

The reference is likely to a new studio album, which would be the fourth in his well-received discography that includes Section.80, good kid, m.A.A.d city and To Pimp A Butterfly.
After the massive critical and commercial success of To Pimp A Butterfly, the bar has been set incredibly high for Kendrick Lamar’s official follow-up. TPAB dominated Top 10 lists and award shows after its release in March 2015, with HipHopDX giving it a perfect 5.0 score and calling it the best album of that year.
Even the untitled. unmastered compilation of demos and session extras that came out in 2016 made the Top 20 of DX’s albums of the year list.
Lamar hasn’t exactly been dormant as of late, regularly popping up for guest verses for the likes of Thundercat, TDE labelmate Isaiah Rashad, The Weeknd, DJ Khaled and many more.
He’s also been doing interviews and dropping hints about the direction of the new project, recently telling the New York Times’ T Magazine about themes of religion and community.
“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.”
As of right now, there are no further details on the album’s name or release window, but the IG post indicates that the gears are in motion.
Lamar is also scheduled to headline Coachella in April and Rolling Loud in May, where we’ll hopefully get a preview of his new music — if it’s not already out by then.
Check out the DX Breakdown making the case for K.Dot as the GOAT.