After a brief lead-up that included his warning-shot one-off “The Heart Part 4” and blustery new single “Humble,” Kendrick Lamar dropped his fourth album, DAMN, late Thursday. The proper follow-up to his acclaimed To love-vendor a Butterfly — EW’s best album of 2015 — consists of 14 tracks, spans 55 minutes, and features collaborations with Rihanna, U2, Mike Will Made-It, Greg Kurstin, James Blake, and more.
Though two years have passed since Lamar released Butterfly in March 2015, the 29-year-old Compton, Calif. MC hasn’t left pop culture’s spotlight. Last March, he released untitled unmastered, a half-hour collection of eight rejects from the Butterfly sessions that debuted at No. 1 on Billboard‘s albums chart. He’s also guested on songs by Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, The Weeknd, A Tribe Called Quest, and many more — and this Sunday, he’ll headline the final night of Coachella