Story highlights The rapper dropped "Untitled Unmastered" late Thursday

His label's CEO credited LeBron James for the release

(CNN) For fans of Kendrick Lamar, Friday dawned a little brighter than usual.

The rapper dropped an album, "Untitled Unmastered," overnight, and fans rushed to their streaming services of choice to check out the eight new tracks.

NBA star LeBron James was credited as the impetus behind the new release, as he'd tweeted Top Dawg Entertainment CEO Anthony Tiffith last week: "Yo @dangerookipawaa after that @kendricklamar Grammy performance, you have to release those untitled tracks asap!!! What's up? Talk to me".

Yo @dangerookipawaa after that @kendricklamar Grammy performance , you have to release those untitled tracks asap!!! What's up? Talk to me — LeBron James (@KingJames) February 23, 2016

James and other fans got their wish late Thursday when the album art was released on Spotify and, later, Lamar tweeted a link to the recordings.

"Thank @kingjames for this," Tiffith said in an (NSFW) Instagram post