J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar Collaborative Album Release News 2017: Announcement Imminent?

By Denise See, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Rumors of a collaboration album have been persistently following J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar since last year despite the lack of a concrete announcement. However, according to a new report, that could all change once J. Cole finishes his new tour.

J. Cole recently announced the tour dates through his Twitter account. The rapper will be touring the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand starting June. The tour will run for approximately six months, ending in early December, and rumor has it that the big announcement concerning his collaboration with Lamar may be made during the tour, which is titled "4 Your Eyez Only."

The Bitbag suggests that J. Cole has plans to make a new album after the conclusion of the tour. This makes sense since the rapper will have a lot of free time following that. However, this in no way confirms that he will be working with Lamar.

And while speculations on a joint album have been running rampant, there are also reasons why this may be impossible. Last year, both artists were fairly busy with their own projects and work commitments. Lamar was occupied with promotional work due to his collaboration with Reebok Classics. The rapper had released a new line of footwear in partnership with the brand.

Meanwhile, J. Cole was busy working with other notable names in the music industry. Apart from that, there has also been some talk of J. Cole retiring from his profession, although this has yet to be confirmed.

On the bright side, rapper Ab-Soul seemed to let it slip in December that Lamar and J. Cole were making music together. While speaking to The Breakfast Club, Ab-Soul said that the collaborative album was "in the works." However, when The Fader asked the artist to confirm the news via email, he had no comment on the matter.