“1855 days, I’ve been going through something”. That’s how Kendrick starts his latest album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, referring to the time between the release of DAMN on April 17th 2017, Mr. Morale.
But for me there has been even more waiting to do. Not only did I have to wait those five years and one month for new music from my favourite artist, but I also had to wait six years since I last saw him live – in Lisbon in 2016 – before finally getting to see him on stage again this month – in Glasgow.
I meant to catch the Big Steppers tour during one its three London dates. But the tickets sold out in 10 minutes, and the only date available in the UK was Glasgow. That’s how I found myself in Glasgow’s OVO Hydro, Scotland’s biggest music venue, along with a sold-out crowd to watch the rapper who the majority present there would consider the GOAT (greatest of all time).
Before Kendrick there were two supporting acts. First to come up on stage was the most recent pgLang (Kendrick’s label) signee, Tanna Leone, who had to warm up the crowd for what would come next. Leone wore a mohawk that would make the famous Camden punks jealous. In the short 20-minute set, he performed songs from his 2022 album Sleepy Soldier. His melodic brand of Trap, reminiscent of Travis Scott and Juice WRLD, left the audience curious about what he might do with a longer performance.
After a 15-minute wait it was time for Kendrick Lamar’s cousin and collaborator since he was 16 years old, Baby Keem, to come on and show how he is be the next big thing of the hip-hop scene. “two-phone Baby Keem”, as he likes to call himself, tore up the whole arena. The crowd gathered in one gigantic collective mosh pit for the whole 40 minutes that he performed.
The set featured mainly songs from his two latest albums, The Melodic Blue and Die For My Bitch. The strongest moment of the performance though, and one of the best of the night, was his reprise of “Praise God” – a Kanye West song on which he features – which set the whole arena on fire. He finished by saying, “I’ll see you in a bit”, and it was then time for the big event.
When the first notes of “United In Grief” – the Mr.Morale intro – started, goosebumps broke out over my whole body and I was unable to move until the white veil that was covering the front of the stage started to rise, revealing Kendrick at the piano together with a very realistic puppet of himself. Over the next 1 hour and 40 minutes I fell into a kind of joyful and ecstatic trance.
The performance was divided into different sections, introduced via voice-over narration from the great Helen Mirren. The setlist, although filled mainly with tracks from the latest project, also re-visited other albums. The first section of the performance included “N95”, the hit from Mr. Morale, and “Backseat Freestyle”, both of which got the crowd suitably hyped.
In a lot of the songs Kendrick was accompanied by an array of dancers, choreographed in a spectacular way. “Worldwide Steppers” for example featured tap dancing. In some of the songs Kendrick joined the dancers whilst continuing to rap.
Kendrick’s repertoire is very diverse. Some songs are introspective, and others more hype. But they always have substance. But it was obvious which ones were most loved. “HUMBLE”, “m.A.A.d city”, “DNA” and “Alright” all made the crowd go wild, spawning multiple mosh pits across the venue. But the most emotional moment of the night was when the whole crowd sang “Money Trees” word for word.
During the last section Baby Keem and Tanna Leone returned to the stage to perform “family ties” – one of the biggest hip-hop hits of 2021 – and a pyrotechnic version of “Mr. Morale” respectively. However it was Lamar’s reprise of “Count Me Out” and “Mirror”, performed from a platform that lifted him hight up from the stage that filled everyone with the most awe. This was the moment when I, and many others, felt the greatness of what we were experiencing.
Lamar saved the best song from Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers for last, and “Savior”, also featureing Baby Keem, was the perfect ending. The song’s message is that even though “Kendrick” can create art that makes you think and feel things, “he is not your savior”, and he, like most public figures, is as human as everyone else with with his own struggles and flaws.
Some of the crowd’s behaviour went against the spirit of the event. Not everybody helped each other in the mosh pits; and moshing during mellow songs like “Love” or “Count Me Out” was not appropriate. Nevertheless, it was a night no one there will forget, and one that showed why Lamar is the enormous artist that he is. But remember, he is no one’s “savior”.