All you need to know about Kendrick Lamar’s upcoming show in SA
Anticipation is high for multi-Grammy-winning artist, Pulitzer Prize recipient, cultural icon, and living legend, Kendrick Lamar’s performance in South Africa later this year. The rapper will be performing on day two of the Hey Neighbour Festival taking place from December 8 to 10.
This will be Lamar’s second time performing in SA following his March 2014 three-city live concerts in Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg excitement is rife but not everyone is ready for the ticket prices.
Lamar joins the impressive festival line-up that already includes H.E.R., Khalid, The Chainsmokers, and Swedish House Mafia. Social media has been buzzing with fans expressing their excitement for the show and also sharing their reservations about the prices for the festival.
Taking place at Legends Adventure Farm in Pretoria, ticket prices have caused a stir. Phase 1 ticket prices do not come cheap with a day pass retailing from R1 599 to R2 199. Weekend Passes are priced at R3 899 for General Access and R4 999 for the VIP experience, with prices expected to shift as the day approaches.
Glen21 Entertainment, South Africa’s leading event maestros, has curated the festival which they say is more than just another groove session but a global gathering, a vibrant celebration of music, culture, and most importantly, community.
Organizers have put together a line-up that features a bit of everything, from a piano, rock music, and afro beats with some of the best taking to the stage, making it also quite the task to choose which day you want to attend.
Kendrick Lamar wins big at BET Hip Hop Awards 2022
Kendrick Lamar dominated the BET Hip Hop Awards 2022, taking home six prizes. The 35-year-old rap superstar was crowned Artist of the Year at the ceremony on September 30 at the Cobb Energy Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, which aired on Tuesday.
His acclaimed LP “Mr Morale and The Big Steppers” scooped Hip-Hop Album of the Year, and he won Best Hip-Hop Video for his Baby Keem track “Family Ties”, and Video Director of the Year with Dave Free.
His haul also included Lyricist of the Year and Best Live Performer.
Kanye West – who legally changed his name to Ye – earned a whopping 10 nominations, including Best Live Performer and Album of the Year, but failed to win a single prize.
Elsewhere, Lizzo’s mega-hit “About Damn Times” won the Impact award, Latto’s “Big Energy” was named Song of The Year and 50 Cent was crowned Hustler of the Year.
The ceremony was hosted by Fat Joe, and the likes of GloRilla and Lil’ Kim took to the stage.
An abridged list of the winners is:
Hip-hop Artist of the Year: Kendrick Lamar
Hip-hop Album of the Year: Kendrick Lamar, “Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers”
Song of the Year: Latto, “Big Energy”
Best Hip-Hop Video: Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar, “Family Ties”
Best Collaboration: Future feat Drake and Tems, “Wait for You
Best Duo or Group: EARTHGANGStyles P and Havoc
Best Breakthrough Hip Hop Artist: GloRillaNardo Wick
Best Live Performer: Kendrick Lamar
Lyricist of the Year: Kendrick Lamar
Video Director of the Year: Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free
Producer of the Year: Hitmaka
Hustler of the Year: 50 Cent
Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse: Drake, “Churchill Downs” (Jack Harlow feat Drake) and Drake, “Wait for You” (Future feat Drake and Tems)
Kendrick Lamar brought his latest album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers to SNL on Saturday night (October 1).
Introduced by actor Miles Teller, the Pulitzer Prize-winner performed a trifecta of tracks from his critically acclaimed fifth LP.
Wearing a pink hoodie, trucker hat and black leather pants, along with an assortment of bejeweled accessories, Kendrick opened with “Rich Spirit” while stood still inside a sparse, dimly-lit cube — a nod to his Big Steppers Tour, which asked fans to “help Mr. Morale get out of the box.”
Halfway through the song, the modest set design was infused with a tough of magic as K. Dot’s shadow, which was projected onto the wall behind him, began to move on its own.
The Compton native then cranked up the energy by transitioning into “N95,” becoming much more animated as a lights show unfolded around him.
Various messages were projected onto the walls, such as: “Lil L Got His Passport Yall,” “4 Peez Kee Riches,” “The Homie Jason Keaton Wrote Two Books In Prison The Edges [And] Envy In The Eyes” and “Yea We Still Playing Industry Politics.”
Kee Riches, a fellow Los Angeles rapper, was shot and killed in Compton on September 24, while Keaton is a Compton-bred author who Kendrick has referenced in his music in the past (see: 2009’s “Uncle Bobby & Jason Keaton”).
Kendrick later returned to perform “Father Time” with British crooner Sampha, who joined him inside the cubic stage, newly-decorated with a bed, armchair, bedside table, lamp and a stack of books.
The set yet again came to life as the walls slowly closed in on the duo, seemingly reflecting the emotionally-restricted upbringing that K. Dot unpacks on the song.
“I come from a generation of home invasions and I got daddy issues, that’s on me / Everything them four walls had taught me, made habits bury deep,” he raps.
This time, Kendrick’s eccentric outfit was swapped out for a more modest ensemble, complete with a custom blue pgLang L.A. Dodgers cap — which his longtime manager and pgLang partner Dave Free insisted is for members only. “You gotta be from pg to get a fitted. Not for sale,” he tweeted during the broadcast.
Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers medley marked his fifth appearance on SNL and first in four years.
He made his debut in 2013 to perform good kid, m.A.A.d city hits “Swimming Pools (Drank)” and “Poetic Justice,” before returning in 2014 to play would-be To Pimp a Butterfly single “i” and “Pay For It” alongside Jay Rock and singer/pianist Chantal Kreviazuk.
He’s also appeared twice as a guest, joining Imagine Dragons for “Radioactive” in 2014 and assisting Anderson .Paak with “Tints” in 2018.Kendrick has been gracing stages across the continent of late. Between July and September, he packed arenas across North America on his Big Steppers Tour alongside fellow pgLang signees Baby Keem and Tanna Leone. He also headlined Glastonbury Festival and Rolling Loud Miami this past summer.
As for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in May after earning 295,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. It has since surpassed one billion streams on Spotify — the first rap album from this year to achieve the feat — while reportedly selling over 800,000 units in the U.S.
The project has helped power Kendrick to nine nominations at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards, including Hip Hop Artist of the Year, Hip Hop Album of the Year and Lyricist of the Year.
Meanwhile, Hip Hop will continue to make its presence felt on SNL later this month with Megan Thee Stallion pulling double duty as the show’s host and musical guest on October 15.
Kendrick Lamar’s Glastonbury Tiffany & Co. crown made of more than 8000 diamonds
Kendrick Lamar‘s Glastonbury crown was made from more than 8 000 diamonds. The silver crown of thorns was hand-crafted over a period of almost a year, by Tiffany and Co., and took 1 300 hours to set.
Alongside official images of the accessory worn by the hip-hop legend, when he headlined the Pyramid Stage at the world-famous festival at the weekend, Tiffany’s creative director Ruba Abu-Nimah wrote on Instagram: “Handcrafted by four artisans over the span of 10 months, and a total of 1 300 hours setting the thousands of diamonds, Tiffany’s expert craftspeople brought the @kendricklamar crown to life from 16 individual pieces that were assembled to form the final design. #Glastonbury2022 #TiffanyAndCo.”
Kendrick closed Glastonbury 2022 with a powerful plea for women’s rights.
The 35-year-old rapper gave a poignant performance of “Savior” and, before he left the stage, he addressed the Supreme Court’s recent overturning of landmark ruling Roe v Wade, which is expected to see at least 20 states restrict or make abortion illegal. Wearing the crown, he repeatedly chanted: “They judge you, they judged Christ. Godspeed for women’s rights.”
Earlier in his set – which opened with an instrumental interlude from “Savior” before he launched into “United in Grief” – Kendrick admitted it “meant a lot” to him to perform at the legendary festival.
After performing “Love”, he said: “On behalf of me and my team, I want to thank every individual out here tonight. I consider y’all family, this sh*t is special, it means a lot to me.
I wear this crown. They judged Christ. They judge you, they judged Christ. We gonna continue to walk in his image.”
The “Alright” singer was backed by dancers throughout his set, with the men echoing his own outfit of black trousers and white shirt, and the women in flowing red dresses.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar revealed the title and release date of his next album on Monday after a fan jokingly accused him of quitting music.
In response to a February tweet from @raptalksk that deemed Lamar “officially retired,” the Grammy winner posted a link to his website announcing his first solo record in five years. Lamar’s fifth studio album, “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” is set to arrive May 13.
After a long Lamar drought, the rapper’s loyal fans are excited about the news — especially @raptalksk, who has already taken credit for bringing Lamar “out of retirement” and baited his next target, tweeting, “Frank Ocean is officially retired.”
“NO WAY KENDRICK LAMAR ANNOUNCED HIS ALBUM USING MY TWEET WTFFFF,” the self-professed hip-hop and music enthusiast wrote. Drop a follow if u want ur favourite artist out of retirement.
It’s been half a decade since Lamar released his last solo studio effort, “Damn.,” which collected five Grammy Awards, including rap song and rap album. The acclaimed collection was also nominated for album of the year, while the hit single “Humble.” competed for record of the year.
In 2018, Lamar collaborated with SZA and others on the soundtrack for Marvel’s “Black Panther,” which also scored a Grammy nomination for album of the year. Most recently, he joined forces with his cousin, Baby Keem, on the latter’s “Family Ties,” which won the Grammy for rap performance earlier this month.
Other than that, the Pulitzer Prize-winning musician has remained somewhat dormant in recent years — except, of course, for the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show headlined by Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Dr. Dre.
