While the “Greatest Of All Time” label is attributed generously to icons of the day, to truly carve out a place at the top of a musical genre is no small ordeal. However, after witnessing Kendrick Lamar take center stage at the Grand National Tour this Friday, it is undeniable that his rap stardom reigns supreme.
Lamar’s high-profile feud with contemporary rapper Drake was among the most closely followed debacles in last year’s pop culture landscape. From Lamar’s menacing lyrics in “euphoria” to his accusations of pedophilia in “Not Like Us,” the diss tracks were the soundtrack of 2024.
In February, Lamar took home a whopping five Grammys for “Not Like Us” and performed the hit during his Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, cementing the song’s towering legacy. Now, the track concludes the tour’s setlist — a nearly three-hour marathon of rap, R&B and pyrotechnics.
However, the Grand National Tour proved that Lamar’s discography extends beyond his competition with Drake. Spanning over a decade of music, he demonstrated his leading presence in the rap genre.
Joined by SZA, Lamar’s friend and frequent collaborator, the show deftly intersperses hits from both stars’ discographies, showcasing their sonic excellence and skillful duets. In seven polished acts, both artists flexed their larger-than-live showmanship. The hexagonal stage, with a general admission standing section in the center, allowed Lamar and SZA to touch all bases of the stadium.
The live portions were not the only enthralling bits of the show. The act’s transitions were comically engaging, with Lamar seated in a deposition style arraignment and delivering pointed retorts at his questions. In SZA’s interlude, she was asked if her songs thrive on dysfunction in her relationships, which she wholeheartedly confirmed. The Grand National Tour effectively synthesized the two artists’ vocal talent with sardonic humor and impressive visuals.
The first act shows Lamar at his greatest: an entertainer for the ages and a superlative talent.
On his first ever stadium tour, Lamar defends his status, underscoring his lyrical complexity and firm command over the audience. Commencing with “wacced out murals,” Lamar emerged from a 1987 Buick Grand National Experimental, a retro convertible (the tour’s namesake), rapping the entirety of the track from his “GNX” album, which made a surprise drop last November and received critical acclaim.
Lamar’s unrivaled stamina and live flow were not the only spectacle on display. Jolts of fire radiated from the stage, releasing billowing clouds of smoke into the sky. With astounding lyrical precision, Lamar rapped hits like “tv off” and “HUMBLE.” to a mesmerizing backdrop of stage fog, expertly syncopated sparks and fireworks.
In act two, SZA thrilled with her dynamic stage presence and stunning live vocals. Emerging from a moss-covered convertible — SZA has long been an outdoors enthusiast — the R&B star entranced the audience from the start. With ethereal and polished vocals, she flawlessly executed hits from her 2017 debut album “Ctrl.” Her songs evoked a biting nostalgia and were supplemented by high-energy choreography.
Following SZA’s first set, Lamar re-emerged, leveling the first of two forays into his headline-grabbing beef with Drake. Rapping “euphoria” from start to finish, Lamar captured the audience, with thousands of fans screaming the lyrics, “I hate the way that you walk / the way that you talk / I hate the way that you dress,” at the top of their lungs. One of many diss tracks levied against Drake, “euphoria” live was another beast entirely.
Upon SZA’s second entrance, she blended hits from “Ctrl” and her chart-topping sophomore album “SOS.” Gyrating to the strums of the electric guitar, belting through bangers like “F2F” and moving seamlessly about the stage, SZA made her already incredible discography more engaging.
The show soared most when Lamar and SZA banded together to perform their smash hit “All the Stars.” Suspended on rising platforms, the superstars brought their hit from Marvel’s “Black Panther” to vibrant life.
In the fifth act, Lamar’s performance of “peekaboo” highlighted a dynamic choreography, where the artist and his dancers utilized the stage to its full potential.
SZA was perhaps most captivating in her “SOS” portion of the night. She traversed hits like “Kill Bill” and “Snooze” — the latter of which she prefaced as her only love song. Few artists can lead their audience in a sultry ballad about killing their exes without it being an arresting portrait, but the unmatched success of “Kill Bill” diffused all doubt.
In the emotive ballad “Nobody Gets Me,” SZA soared — both literally and vocally — above the stage in a harness while donning iridescent wings and a hoop skirt loosely resembling a cocoon, which later dropped to the stage in dramatic fashion.
In the show’s final act, Lamar delivered his smash hit “Not Like Us,” the final and perhaps most blistering Drake diss track. He gleefully led the audience in a chant of “certified lover boy / certified pedophile,” and the lyrics “tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor” bounced off the walls of the stadium.
The searing duet “luther” came toward the show’s conclusion, with Lamar and SZA performing the most streamed single from the GNX album. This week, “luther” broke Billboard’s record for the most weeks atop the R&B Hip-Hop Songs chart.
As the night rounded out, “luther” celebrated both artists’ unique sonic talents while underscoring their ability to harmonize across musical boundaries.
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
— Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Tour is an epic reclamation of the country canon
— The Weeknd lifts his mask, embraces a new era in “After Hours, Till Dawn”
— Alex Warren captivates audience in Cheaper Than Therapy Tour
