Kendrick Lamar readies album with U2 credit

Grammy-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar is set to release a new album next week with rock veterans U2 on the credits.

Lamar recently put out a song in which he boasted about himself and warned rival rappers: "You all got 'til April the 7th to get y'all shit together."

They will apparently have another week. Lamar did not release the album Friday as widely anticipated, instead unveiling pre-order information for the still-untitled 14-track work.

The album will come out on April 14 -- two days before Lamar headlines a night of Coachella, the major music festival in southern California.

The album's credits, made available upon pre-order, include U2 on track 11 -- with frontman Bono identified by his real name Paul Hewson.

The credits could indicate a fresh track with the Irish rockers, who are preparing a new album of their own, or indicate that Lamar sampled or took inspiration from an existing U2 song.

Other artists credited include the English singer James Blake, Canadian hip-hop instrumentalists BadBadNotGood and rap producers Top Dawg and 9th Wonder.

Lamar's last full-fledged studio album, 2015's "To Pimp a Butterfly," won wide acclaim for its lyrical reflections and musical experimentation, with its song "Alright" becoming an unofficial anthem of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Lamar last year unexpectedly released a companion album of demos from the recording sessions called "untitled unmastered."

source: AFP