It’s been over three years since we received a full studio album from Kendrick Lamar, who turned in some of the best writing of his career on the Pulitzer Prize-winning DAMN. Since then, it’s been relatively quiet from the Compton lyricist, aside from a few choice cuts on the Black Panther soundtrack. In the meantime, rumors of a full-fledged “rock album” have begun circulating –a development that has been met with both excitement and wariness.

Kendrick Lamar new album

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In any case, Kendrick has given us ample reason to trust his vision so far. As a result, his untitled fourth album remains one of the most anticipated releases in the entire industry. The only problem is, we have no idea as to when it’s set to arrive. Luckily, TDE founder Top Dawg recently came through to provide a light at the end of the otherwise murky tunnel.

“Stay patient King Kendrick will return soon,” he writes, as spotted by Our Generation Music. Not exactly a goldmine of information, but given that this is the largest K Dot drought us fans have seen in a minute, we’ll take anything we can get. Of course, “soon” has become the bane of the rap game, meaning anything from a few weeks to several months. Anyone choosing to look on the optimistic side of things?