Kendrick Lamar isn’t just someone who can crank out critically acclaimed albums from the comforts of the studio — he’s also an incredibly compelling live performer. At last night’s Grammys, Lamar showed off his performance skills with an intense performance of two tracks off his last album To Pimp a Butterfly, which won the Grammy for Best Rap Album and was nominated for Album of the Year.
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The performance began with Lamar dressed in prison garb and chained to several other performers who marched with him onto the stage. He then launched into a ferocious rendition of “The Blacker the Berry” before subtly transitioning to “Alright,” which was the biggest hit from To Pimp A Butterfly.
Lamar’s fellow musicians were positively blown away by the performance and they let him know it on Twitter:
@kendricklamar has made me the most proud for HIP HOP in a very long time!!!… https://t.co/iTFuuaMfkx
— Busta Rhymes (@BustaRhymes) February 16, 2016
@kendricklamar THAT WAS SO POWERFUL.
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) February 16, 2016
I had to charge my phone so I am late but @kendricklamar !!!!!!!!!!!! WOW.
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) February 16, 2016
And The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah gave Lamar very high praise while also ripping into Kanye West:
https://twitter.com/Trevornoah/status/699424617463676932
Check out a video of the full performance below. It really does live up to the hype.
