Kendrick Lamar tenure with TDE is coming to an end ahead of his final album.
The Compton rapper announced his final TDE album on Friday on Twitter. He released a statement saying that his twenty years with Top Dawg Entertainment is coming to an end, and he prepares to launch his final album.
Kendrick Lamar signaled that he will continue to pursue his “life’s calling” but that he’s grateful for the time he has spent with TDE.
“As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years,” Kendrick wrote. “The Struggles. The Success. And most importantly, the Brotherhood. May the Most High continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators. As I continue to pursue my life’s calling.”
Kendrick Lamar posted his statement on his new website called Oklama, which he signed his name as.
“There’s beauty in completion. And always faith in the unknown. Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts. I’ve prayed for you all. See you soon enough,” Lamar ended the note, signing off as “oklama.”
https://t.co/YVE5bZOBL2 pic.twitter.com/Inon4x2lqJ
— Kendrick Lamar (@kendricklamar) August 20, 2021
The chief executive officer for TDE, Anthony “Top Dawg,” Tiffith also confirmed the news on social media shortly after Kedrick’s announcement.
“The whole goal when we started this thing was to make music, make money, and make history,” he wrote. “We did those things 10 times over and then some. TDE and its artists have provided a way to end generational curses that we were all personally born into over the last 17 years in this business. With this being Dot’s last album on TDE, this is more of a VICTORY LAP, a celebration. I know he will be successful in whatever it is he decides to do and will have our FULL support,” he continued.
He added that the company will continue to grow and offer services to the artist.
“As for Top Dawg Entertainment, we will continue to grow, develop and give artists the platform to expand into whatever way they choose.”
Meanwhile, the President of the Management Company Punch also released a similar statement where he said that the parties are amicably parting ways.
“It’s funny when things change, because most of the time we automatically assume it’s something negative,” Punch wrote. “It’s rarely seen as growth. Growth is a great thing and it’s essential for life. Life happens in stages and this particular stage is almost complete. Kendrick is a generational artist who has accomplished so much and has contributed immensely to this thing we call Hip Hop. It’s only right for him to continue to evolve and build his own business and brand how he sees fit.”
Punch also teased Kendrick’s album coming soon.
“We want each and every artist we work with at TDE to build and grow and be self sufficient,” he wrote. “That’s the whole point. Also please remember that this is FAMILY and will always continue to be so. Album coming soon (lol).”
The 13-times Grammy award-winning artist was raised in Compton, California, and started his illustrious music career as a teen with the stage name K-Dot. His first mixtape landed him his deal with indie record label TDE.
Lamar’s career took off in the 2010 decade with his retail release, Overly Dedicated. Over the decades, he has amassed a large online following and collaborated with the industry’s best and most prominent hip hop artists.
Among his notable achievements is his TDE label debut album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, which was released in 2012 to critical acclaim and later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly album released in 2015 was his third project that incorporated elements of funk, soul, jazz, and spoken word, which opened a new world for the artist. According to stats from Metacritic, that album became his first number one album on the Billboard 200 and is the most acclaimed album of the 2010s.
