On Twitter, the artist's account responded to a message announcing his retirement with a link to his website, oklama.com, where a new black folder appeared.
Inside, a letter announces the title of the album, "Mr Morale & The Big Steppers", as well as a release date, May 13, 2022.
The kid from Compton, a poor suburb of Los Angeles, is considered one of the best rappers of all time for his lyrics that address racism, violence and social injustice, and his style incorporating jazz and "spoken word ".
His previous albums had already been successful and his latest opus, "DAMN", released in 2017, earned him a Pulitzer Prize in the music category, a first for a hip-hop artist and more broadly for the modern popular music.
He then signed several of the songs from the soundtrack of the Marvel movie "Black Panther".
Kendrick Lamar has already won 14 Grammy Awards, the awards of the American music industry, including the last this year for the best rap performance, on a song with his cousin Baby Keem ("family ties").
Recently, he appeared during the concert bringing together several legends of California rap for the halftime of the Super Bowl 2022, including Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.
It is also on the bill for the next Glastonbury Festival in England.
© 2022 AFP