Hip-hop megastar Kendrick Lamar has teased the possible imminent release of his fourth album with a solitary Instagram post.

The 29 year old rapper’s account, as of Thursday morning (March 23rd), bore only the roman numerals ‘IV’ having been otherwise completely deleted. The number refers to the canon of traditional albums that he has released thusfar - 2011's Section.80, 2012's Good Kid m.A.A.d. City and 2015's To Pimp a Butterfly – not counting 2010’s Overly Dedicated mixtape and 2016’s untitled unmastered outtakes record.

His millions of fans have taken it as a sign that a brand new studio album could be set for release any day now, with this Friday (March 24th) being the next day of scheduled official album releases.

To Pimp A Butterfly was also released by surprise a little over two years ago, and recently the vinyl used for the original production of the album was added to the Harvard Library in recognition of its cultural significance and impact.

Lamar, a former protégé of Dr Dre and a product of the West Coast scene, won rave reviews for his last two albums and has experimented with soul and jazz to make those records what they were.

Kendrick LamarKendrick Lamar performing at British Summer Time Festival in July 2016

There has been little by way of clues as to what his next album might sound like, as he rarely gives interviews, but he did say back in 2015: “I know exactly what I want to say next. Everything is going to make sense – not only to myself but to anybody who wants to understand life and music. Everything will make a little more sense.”

Whatever happens, it seems likely that fans with tickets to the Coachella festival in California in April will get to hear new songs from Kendrick as he performs two headline spots on the Sunday nights.

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