More about: Kendrick Lamar

As darkness engulfs Glasgow’s The SSE Hydro and the curtain descends to unveil a specially made stage set-up, all of those in attendance halt in their tracks, conclude their conversations and stand at attention. Revered in a manner that harks back to the pre-internet age when artists could keep their carefully constructed mystique intact, it says a lot about Kendrick Lamar’s place in the hearts and minds of today’s music fans that the notoriously snarky and cynical Scottish crowd stands entranced as a quirky Blaxploitation-inspired film begins to play on the screens.  In keeping with his newly adopted ‘Kung Fu Kenny’ moniker, the tongue-in-cheek skit bears semblances of truth as it speaks of his study of ‘the greats’ that helped birth his unique and wholly inimitable style. 

As the film concludes and the man himself emerges in front of his adoring public to the opening strains of ‘DNA’, it soon becomes clear that he’s no longer taking cues from the genre’s forbearers and is well on his way to surpassing them. As the explosive Mike Will-Made It produced track sends the audience of ardent hip-hop devotees and intrigued casual observers into a collective hysteria, the Compton native doles out his rhymes with the sort of clarity that manages to not only replicate the frenetic delivery that’s seen on record but ups the intensity of DAMN’s opening salvo. 

Clad in black robes and with an air of monk-like composure that makes every move seem purposeful and carefully orchestrated, he briefly greets the capacity crowd before frenzied renditions of ‘ELEMENT’ and To Pimp A Butterfly’s ‘King Kunta’ keep the energy at a near unprecedented level for an arena show. With the latter being one of only two tracks to be aired from the record that is widely regarded as his magnum opus, the joy that its DJ funk-inspired beat and its braggadocious quips elicit from both performer and audience attest to the special place that the album holds in popular culture. 

Deviating from his own catalogue, Lamar briefly delves into his appearances on other artists’ material including his recent turn on Rich The Kid’s ‘New Freezer’ and his legendary bi-lingual verse on TDE running mate Schoolboy Q’s ‘Collard Greens’ before the crowd are promptly transported back to his previous visit to Glasgow. Having last visited the city for a headline show after the release of his breakout album Good Kid MAAD City in 2013, standouts from his seminal major label debut such as ‘Swimming Pools (Drank)’ and ‘Backseat Freestyle’ are greeted with genuine warmth and a deep-seated sense of unashamed nostalgia for those that have charted his journey as we’re reminded of the candid and ambitious album that galvanised Kendrick’s ascent from underground concern to the heir apparent to West Coast hip-hop’s throne. 

As is to be expected, the set’s focal point is his latest LP, with its infusion of exploratory ponderings on the human condition and his commandeering of the trap-style beats that dominate today’s landscape being exemplified when ‘LOYALTY’, ‘FEEL’ and ‘LUST’ are aired in quick succession. 

Transitioning to a small B-stage that comes complete with an elaborately lit cage, ‘K-dot’ surveys the Glasgow audience from atop of it during a celebratory rendition of ‘Money Trees’ before highlighting his rejection of the concept of being a role model on the US-assisted ‘XXX.’ 

Undoubtedly garnering one of the biggest responses of the night, the incendiary sound of ‘MAAD CITY’ conjures up the intrepid dangers of his environment to an audience that couldn’t have been further removed from it and yet find resonance in his tale of triumph over the temptations and demons that could’ve destroyed him as they did so many others.

After the energy briefly dips to allow for more excerpts from his latest Grammy-nominated album, the main set is concluded with three tracks that have been pivotal in his journey to the pinnacle of the rap game in ‘Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe’, ‘Alright’ and ‘Humble.’ With one acting as his first foray into the mainstream, one becoming a bona-fide civil rights anthem for the Black Lives Matter movement and the final track serving as an unabashed assertion of his dominance over one of the world’s most hotly contested genres, the closing section of the set encapsulated his journey and growth as an artist in just under ten minutes and made it all too clear that he has rightfully climbed into any conversation about the best rapper to have ever graced a cypher, stage or recording studio.

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Words: Robert Blair

Photo: USA TODAY Network/Sipa USA/REX/Shutterstock

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More about: Kendrick Lamar