In the summer of 2011, Kendrick Lamar performed his first show in Atlanta at a small venue called The Loft. At the time, Kendrick Lamar was still a rapper on the rise serving as a co-headliner with former Lil Wayne protegé Cory Gunz (Cyhi The Prynce and Schoolboy Q also performed). Having released the independent album “Section 80” one month prior to the show, Kendrick moved the audience of 2,500 who sung every word to “A.D.H.D,” and “F Your Ethnicity.”
Fourteen years later, Kendrick returned to Atlanta along with SZA for the “GNX” tour, this time performing in front of 50,000 at the Mercedes Benz Stadium.
The massive three-hour show featured seven acts and 52 songs.
Kendrick entered the stage dressed in baggy jeans, a black leather jacket, and a chain with a large “X,” his style paying homage to ‘90s-era rappers such as 2 Pac and DMX. He opened the show with the vengeful “Wacced Out Murals,” the lead track from “GNX” where he confronts those who despise his success and challenges others to continue on their path when confronted with hate.
He followed with the party-starting tracks “Squabble Up,” “King Kunta,” and “ELEMENT” before SZA made her debut with “30 for 30.”
Also dressed in ‘90s era style, SZA performed hits “Love Galore,” “Broken Clocks,” and “The Weekend.”
The show featured multiple video segments which tied the storylines together, Kendrick driving through Compton in a GNX car, SZA’s camping in the wilderness, and both facing questions in an interrogation room.
Act 2 opened with a video segment of Kendrick inside of his GNX with his significant other who tells him, “Love and hate are fueled by the same thing.”
The stage went dark before Kendrick was shown rapping the first verse of “Euphoria,” the words “Lies About Me, Truths About You” were presented in bold red letters on a screen that split as Kendrick emerged with fierceness as the beat amped up and pyrotechnics exploded. Ironically, Kendrick released his initial Drake diss one year ago, setting the stage of what would become the greatest battle in rap history.
Kendrick would weave new and old songs together in Act 2, performing “Hey Now,” “Reincarnated,” and “Backseat Freestyle.” With his performance of “M.A.A.D City,” Kendrick rapped over the instrumental of Anita Baker’s “Sweet Love,” giving the aggressive song a more subtle feel. He also performed the protest theme song “Alright” and “Man at the Garden.”
SZA returned to the stage and performed hits “Scorsese Baby Daddy,” “Forgiveness,” and “Blind.” She shared the stage with Kendrick as the two performed the hit, “All the Stars.”
In Act 5, Kendrick performed the smooth “Dodger Blue,” “peekaboo“ and “Like That,” the song that served as the first jab of last year’s rap beef. He surprised the Atlanta crowd by bringing out Playboi Carti for “Good Credit.” He transitioned quickly with the therapeutic “Count Me Out” and the aspirational “Money Trees.”
SZA returned for Act 6, continuing with her camping theme started aggressively with a performance of “Kill Bill” before showing growth by emerging from a cocoon and transitioning to a butterfly, singing “Saturn” and “Good Days.”
With Act 7, Kendrick was joined by DJ Mustard as he performed the overpowering “TV Off.” With the final video segment, Kendrick was questioned in the interrogation room and asked by the lawyer his whereabouts on May 4, 2024. Kendrick responded by telling the lawyer he doesn’t remember dates, the lawyer responded by repeating the word, “Drop, drop, drop,” recalling the words Drake used to taunt Kendrick.
The entire crowd erupted into its loudest roar as Kendrick rapped 2024’s biggest hit song, “Not Like Us.” Another ironic moment was the Atlanta-inspired verse where Kendrick claimed that Drake used Atlanta’s culture for his relevance.
But while “Not Like Us” centered around the lyrical decimation of Drake, the performance touched on much more. Kendrick rapped in front of large screen that served as a mural for Black culture. The images on the mural included women with braids, men with haircuts of deep waves, old school cars with elaborate paint jobs (called Donks in the South), photos of Martin Luther King, a sign that read “We Specialize in Michelle Obama’s Hairstyle,” Breonna Taylor spray-painted on a wall, and a sign that read, “We Are Still Here.” It was Kendrick embracing Black culture, affirming the “us” in his hit song.
Kendrick and SZA ended the show with the nostalgia inducing “Luther” and “Gloria.”
Overall, the “GNX” tour is an epic three-hour show that proves this era belongs to Kendrick and SZA.
-A.R. Shaw
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