Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole new album release date: No word on collaboration as duo work on different projects; J. Cole said to be headlining concerts in S. Africa

(Twitter)Rumored album cover of Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole's collaborative album

Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole's joint album is one collaboration that rap fans have been anticipating for some time now. Thousands of fans were expecting the Lamar-Cole album to drop in February, as teased by Lamar's sister. But the month has come and been long gone and still no album. From the look of things, this mysterious album won't be released this month either.

There are several reasons why fans shouldn't expect the album to arrive anytime soon.

One big hindrance to Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole getting together to work on an album are the two rappers' unbelievably hectic schedules. J. Cole is said to be headlining several concerts in South Africa in June. The news that that the 31-year-old rapper would be performing at the Castle Lite Unlocked concert was reported by EWN. There are also reports that Cole would be joining Drake on tour this summer.

As for the "To Pimp a Butterfly" artist, he reportedly has a joint project with Drake in the pipeline. Speculations about a Drake – Lamar collaboration surfaced when the two artists posted photos that featured $2 bills. The enigmatic posts had fans thinking that it was a hint that the duo had recently shared studio space to work on a project.

It's not just hip-hop fans who are waiting for the fruit of a Lamar and Cole joint project. Their peers are also looking forward to it as well. During his recent Reddit AMA, rapper and record producer Masta Ace had been very vocal of his excitement that "artists like Kendrick Lamar, J-Cole and Joey Badass are out selling some of the other more negative stuff out there."

While there's still no concrete news regarding when (or if ever) a joint album by Lamar and Cole will happen, Top Dawg Entertainment president Dave Free told MTV that anything is possible. But he also cautioned fans that it might take a while before the two creative geniuses get together.

"It takes a long time for one of them to get in a space to create a song, so to get two of them in a space to do that, it takes a lot of time and energy," Free said. "It all has to be a singular project, but it just can't happen overnight."

It seems that fans would have to wait longer or pray harder that Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole would work together soon.

Copyright © 2015 Ecumenical News