Kendrick Lamar

His concert at Capital One Arena was a theatrical spectacle and not just a parade of hits.

When Lamar let the audience sing along to his older hits, it was as if he was giving those songs away to the crowd. As he rapped on “Element,” “I don’t do it for the ’Gram.” It’s clear he didn’t want the crowd to do it for Instagram, either. Old favorites such as the blustering “Backseat Freestyle” and the antagonistic fire starter “m.a.a.d. city” are still powerful but are starting to show their age. The full-size Lamar rapped along with the miniature version for a couple songs in one of the night’s many artistic embellishments and the first but not last time Lamar would be in conversation with himself. On the microphone, Lamar’s staccato, jackhammer flow was impeccable, his syllables as precise and piercing as when recorded. He even had his own windup soldier dance moves, subtle complements to the stepping, swag surfing and spiraling performed by his dance troupe.

Kendrick Lamar's "Big Steppers" tour takes performance art in hip-hop to new heights.

In the territory of being a megastar, it’s essential to perform the room-shakers, of which Kendrick Lamar has an abundance. Kendrick Lamar began his performance with a stage designed to look like a psychotherapist’s office. The dancers flowed through songs such as “N95” and “Silent Hill,” melding together as one in a mind-blowing audio/visual moment of shadow and sound for the song “LUST.” from Kendrick’s 2017 album, “DAMN.” Lamar’s performance of “Crown,” the piano heavy centerpiece to “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers,” featured the rapper himself at the keys. Baby Keem led his set with “trademark usa,” the intro to 2021’s “The Melodic Blue,” contrasting the visual direction by donning a white dress shirt, long black tie and black slacks. Leone, the newest signee of PgLang’s self-cultivated record label, opened the show with songs from his April 2022 album “Sleepy Soldier,” treating fans to a medley of ambient lighting, alternating monochromatic visual effects, and a refreshing vocal approach. For years, less is more was the formula when it came to the live show: a rapper, DJ and hype-man were the go-to trifecta.

Kendrick Lamar spoke about the impact of 'Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers' and its accompanying tour in a reflective letter posted on Instagram.

As Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers holds firm on the Billboard charts following its release in May, Kendrick Lamar is already looking ahead to his next album. You live and you experience the shit that you go through and you deal with it right then and there — or you don’t never deal with it. beyond the perception of who I believed to be. Shit, that’s like a whole new step and a whole new generation. the catalyst of my self expression. took a n-gga twenty years to find mother i sober,” he began.

The Compton rapper shared a myriad of photos from his “Big Steppers” tour.

beyond the perception of who I believed to be. In a message posted on his story, he shared that it took him twenty years to write “Mother I Sober,” a song where the Compton rapper deals with his trauma head-on. the catalyst of my self expression.” Some will find you in 10. took a nigga twenty years to find mother i sober. Kendrick Lamar is notorious for not posting on his social media unless he’s announcing new music or other creative projects he’s working on.

The rapper paid tribute to the power of rap music in a rare message on Instagram.

Judging from his overflow of Instagram activity, Kendrick Lamar is enjoying his time on the Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers tour, and fans are too ...

He broke down the decades-long process to create a song like "Mother I Sober" and vowed to always be an outcast in the mainstream no matter how popular he gets. On Wednesday, he shared a ton of new performance pics and rare Instagram Story to his ‘Gram … which he hardly ever uses. Kendrick still has a lot of leg room left on the tour —which will be blazing all the way through August and September with his pgLang artists. Dressed like a ventriloquist -- creepy puppet and all -- the superstar rapper disappeared in a faint poof of smoke with no glitchy hologram work evident to the naked eye, at least. Judging from his overflow of Instagram activity, Kendrick Lamar is enjoying his time on the Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers tour, and fans are too ... especially when he dazzles them with magic tricks. Recent Charlotte concert footage shows K. Dot speeding through a performance of a 'Mr. Morale' track called “United in Grief” -- and then suddenly vanishing on the spot.

For the past few weeks, Kendrick Lamar has been out on tour in support of his new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. It's been an eventful time — security ...

on jojo. on jojo. Here’s the message in full:

While Kendrick Lamar is currently on The Big Steppers Tour, on Wednesday, he shared a reflective message on Instagram with 50 tour candids.

“We got on very well. “I was very favorably impressed by him,” Tolle said. Some will find you in 10. Some words will find you today. — JPEG GREG (@GregNoire)August 3, 2022 — JPEG GREG (@GregNoire)August 3, 2022

Kendrick Lamar pens message about music: "Rap has truly helped my expansion of self ... beyond the perception of who I believed to be"

Shortly after its arrival, the equally well-received loose cut “ The Heart Part 5” was added to the album’s overall tracklist. Back in May, Lamar liberated his long-awaited fifth studio LP Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. That project consisted of 18 songs and additional appearances from Kodak Black, Blxst, Sampha, Summer Walker, Ghostface Killah, Taylour Paige, and more. the catalyst of my self expression. Some will find you in 10. beyond the perception of who I believed to be. Some words will find you today.