Kendrick Lamar has announced he is leaving Top Dawg Entertainment.
Kendrick has been the flagship artist on TDE for almost 20 years, and the imprint is the only record label the rapper has recorded for, thus far.
That is set to change according to an open letter titled “nu thoughts” Kendrick penned on a new website, oklama.com.
The Pulitzer prize-winning rapper revealed he was working on his final project for TDE in the letter, while he dealt with “love, loss, and grief.”
“Love, loss, and grief have disturbed my comfort zone, but the glimmers of God speak through my music and family. While the world around me evolves, I reflect on what matters the most. The life in which my words will land next,” Kendrick Lamar wrote.
Kendrick was discovered by Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, the boss of TDE, in Compton when he was 15 years old. Tiffith signed Kendrick in 2003, after the success of the fledgling rapper’s first mixtape as K-Dot.
During his time as an artist on Top Dawg, Kendrick produced a critically acclaimed body of work starting with his debut full-length album Section.80 in 2011.
The heralded release was followed by the standout album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,‘ which dropped on Top Dawg/Aftermath in 2012.
Kendrick followed up with To Pimp a Butterfly in 2015, followed by his last full-length album Damn, which dropped in 2017.
Kendrick offered no release date for his final album on Top Dawg, but it appears the split is amicable.
“As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years. The Struggles. The Success. And most importantly, the Brotherhood,” Kendrick said. “May the Most High continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators. As I continue to pursue my life’s calling.”
Read Kendrick Lamar’s full open letter announcing his departure from Top Dawg Entertainment below:
I spend most of my days with fleeting thoughts. Writing. Listening. And collecting old Beach cruisers. The morning rides keep me on a hill of silence.
I go months without a phone.
Love, loss, and grief have disturbed my comfort zone, but the glimmers of God speak through my music and family.
While the world around me evolves, I reflect on what matters the most. The life in which my words will land next.
As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years. 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.
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.
-oklama
