Kendrick Lamar Blacked Out His Profile Picture, Which Could Mean An Album Is Coming Soon

Kendrick Lamar had a relatively quiet 2018 after taking the world by storm in 2017 with his reversible, deeply spiritual album DAMN. While he did produce the Black Panther soundtrack, that was more of a compilation of Top Dawg artists tied into the popular Marvel film franchise than a solo album from Pulitzer Kenny. He also participated on the joint Championship Tour, but otherwise kept a low profile. But now, fans are speculating that the Compton rapper has something in the oven after he made a conspicuous change on his social media.

As noted by fan account @DailyRapFacts, Kendrick has blacked out his profile picture and header on his Twitter profile. The last time he did this was in March, just before the release of DAMN. and loose single, “The Heart, Pt. 4.” The account — and many other fan accounts after it — wondered whether this was an indication that Kendrick has a new project on the way after his year-long, not-quite hiatus.

Of course, it’s also possible that he changed his picture in honor of Schoolboy Q’s upcoming surprise, whatever it turns out to be, or TDE newcomer Zacari’s debut project with the label, Run Wild Run Free, which is also due for a March 15 release. Schoolboy, for what it’s worth, has updated his own profile pic and header, with the pic displaying a plain yellow field and the header blacked out similarly to Kendrick’s. However, other members of the TDE team seem to be team Zacari, with Ab-Soul, Isaiah Rashad, Jay Rock, Reason, Sir, and SZA all displaying his album’s cover art. Top Dawg himself and the label’s official account also display Zacari’s cover, while label president Punch still has his own photo firmly in place.

Given that Kendrick and Schoolboy are the only two not flying the Zacari flag, there just might be something to the rumor that Zacari isn’t the only TDE artist dropping soon.