Kendrick Lamar shares the official cover art to the highly-anticipated new album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers which drops this Friday (May 13) everywhere via Interscope/Aftermath/Top Dawg/pgLang.
The cover features a throne-crowned wearing Kung Fu Kenny with his family and a gun in his back waist-band, holding his oldest child, while his wife, Whitney Alford, sits on the bed, holding their infant child with the impression of breastfeeding. The cover arrives several days after Lamar released the upcoming album’s single “The Heart Part 5” which has received huge attention due to the visual’s homage to the likes of O.J. Simpson, Kanye West, Jessie Smollett, Will Smith, and the late-Kobe Bryant and Nipsey Hussle.
Kendrick’s latest visual, released last Sunday evening (May 9), samples the 1976 Marvin Gaye–classic “I Want You” and has already accumulated over 17 million views-and-growing on YouTube in two days. The song and video have received praise from all over pop culture and entertainment. “The Heart Part 5” is set to appear on Kendrick’s forthcoming fifth studio album — his first album release in five years.
MORE: Kendrick Lamar Announces New Album ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’
In August 2021, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers was revealed as Kendrick’s “final” album with his original recording home, Top Dawg Entertainment. “As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years,” Lamar shared in a message on his oklama website at the time. “The Struggles. The Success. And most importantly, the Brotherhood.” He released his debut album under Top Dawg in 2012 with Good Kid M.A.A.D. City — and with the label Kendrick earned a Pultizer Prize in 2018 for his 2017 album, DAMN.
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers drops Friday on all digital streaming platforms.
