A Rich Spirit: Kendrick Lamar's "Big Steppers" Delivers in Europe

On the morning of 9 November, I received an email to review the third and final London performance of Kendrick Lamar’s Big Steppers tour. Having taken time off work that evening, in part due to U.S. election-related self-pity, as well as a persistent post-COVID cough, I hesitated to schlep myself all the way to the O2 Arena — even with a free ticket and a long-time love of Lamar’s music. Thankfully, after a stern talking-to from a good friend and a few paracetamol tablets, I was on a train to London for a performance that was nothing short of spectacular.

I meant to publish this article in the week following Lamar’s London performance. However, like many audience members, I struggled to adequately describe the evening. Months later, after having watched Lamar a second time — headlining the Barcelona leg of the Primavera Sound (“Primavera”) festival — I may finally have found the words.

One of many sheet-screen images during Lamar’s performance. Photo taken by Swathi Srinivasan.

The Rise of Kendrick Lamar

Born Kendrick Lamar Duckworth in June 1985, Lamar — “Kendrick” to his fans — is known for his seamless integration of social commentary and hip-hop. From a young age, the Compton rapper was no stranger to civil unrest, with family members having participated in the 1992 LA Riots that erupted following the assault of Rodney King at the hands of four acquitted police members. Lamar was also a mere five years old when he witnessed a murder while sitting on his front porch; eight years old when he witnessed another whilst walking home from school.

Yet, Lamar’s childhood was also characterised by an early exposure to music (he is named after Motown star Eddie Kendricks, after all). In an interview with Forbes, he recounted hearing hip-hop albums played by his parents during house parties. The artist even watched hip-hop icons Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre record the music video for “California Love,” a pivotal moment in his childhood. Little did he know, Lamar would rise to be among his idols as one of the most prolific hip-hop artists of all time.

Today, albums like To Pimp A Butterfly and DAMN have earned Lamar global praise. A lyrical genius and masterful performer, Lamar has 17 Grammys, six Billboard Music Awards, an Emmy, and a Pulitzer Prize, among many other accolades. He has also recently broken records with his 2022-2023 Big Steppers tour, now the highest-grossing tour in hip-hop history. The Big Steppers tour visited over 70 cities, some with several back-to-back performances. I was lucky enough to attend two.

The crowd shouts “Kendrick’s in a box! In a box!” as Lamar ascends into the air in a transparent cube. Photo taken by Swathi Srinivasan.

Lamar Takes the Stage

The three-day packed crowd in London’s 20,000-person O2 arena confirmed Lamar’s status as a hip-hop artist extraordinaire. The crowd buzzed with anticipation. Having grown in size since Lamar’s opener, fellow rapper and cousin, Baby Keem, took to the stage. As the lights began to dim, the crowd roared. As far as my eyes could see, there was not a single person seated.

Months later, in sunny Barcelona, an estimated 70,000 people traversed the seaside Parc del Forum for back-to-back performances across Primavera Sound’s 14 stages. By 8pm, the crowd concentrated in the two main stages for the evening’s headliners, Depeche Mode and Lamar, set to perform on side-by-side stages an hour or so apart. Once the crowd shifted towards the former, I found myself 10 metres from the front of Lamar’s stage, surrounded by street-wear cladded twenty-somethings eagerly reciting Lamar’s lyrics between Depeche Mode’s encore hits, “Personal Jesus” and “Just Can’t Get Enough” (lead singer Dave Gahan still has it, in case you were wondering).

The crowd roared as Lamar took the stage. In London, one-by-one, 11 step dancers dressed in white suits walked up and down a runway which split the crowd, forming lines and circles, operating in both unison and discord. With “Savior” as an interlude, Lamar’s words “I am not your savior” filled the arena. In Barcelona, the theatrics were kept to a minimum. A white screen lifted to reveal Lamar through the smoke, dressed in a modest blue satin jacket-trouser getup, hands in his pockets. As the introduction to “N95” began over the loudspeakers, Lamar stood watching as attendees shouted the lyrics. A background screen unfolded as the first beat dropped.

11 step dancers took to the stage in black and white suits, performing a step routine before and during Lamar’s performance. Photo taken by Swathi Srinivasan.

While Lamar was no stranger to London, having performed at BST Hyde Park in 2016 and at the Brit Awards in 2018, it had been nearly ten years since he had graced the Catalunian capital. You could not tell the difference between the two cities, however, as crowds were equally enamoured by Lamar’s performance. Some audience members screamed lyrics as though interacting with Lamar himself, while others beamed widely, between tears, watching as he gracefully commanded the stage. With few hand and body gestures, Lamar’s humility shined. Confident without bravado, lyrics brimming with intention, the rapper performed crowd-pleasing hits such as “King Kunta”, “Alright”, “m.A.A.d city”, “HUMBLE”, “LOYALTY”, and “Money Trees”, in addition to well-known songs off the Big Steppers album — “N95”, “Rich Spirit”, and “Count Me Out” among them.

Both crowds cheered as Lamar brought Baby Keem on stage at the end of his set for performances of “vent” in London, and of “family ties” and “Saviour” in Barcelona. Lamar also surprised the Barcelona crowd with a cover of Pusha T’s “Nosetalgia”(Pusha T having performed at Primavera the previous night). Lamar chatted with both crowds briefly, acknowledging his long-delayed return to Barcelona and expressing excitement at the fact that few in the crowd had seen him perform live before. I chuckled to myself, remembering when I, too, was a first-timer. I thought about just how much had changed for me, and how much would change for the thousands beside me.

A sheet-screen of a boy in a ‘California’ shirt served as the background for much of Lamar’s performance in Barcelona. Photos taken by Swathi Srinivasan.

Lamar the Inspiration

It was during his Barcelona performance that I reflected on Lamar as an inspiration. Sure, he is no stranger to the occasional rivalry, nor does he shy away from the innuendo that has come to characterise, in part, the modern rap scene. But the artist’s lyrics are also reminiscent of hip-hop’s early days — with Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa and Tupac rapping about complicated childhoods, racism, cycles of inequality, police violence, and political unrest. In re-prioritising lyrical meaning and sentiment over machismo and gluttony, confidence over ego, Lamar has joined the likes of Donald Glover and Lauryn Hill in ushering an era of rap and hip-hop that is perhaps new to some, but familiar to many others.

Moreover, unlike the constant attention surrounding his contemporaries, Lamar’s relative media invisibility indicates an uncommon propensity for life away from the limelight. His messages are not conveyed via social media (he has only one Instagram post), but through an urgency in his voice. Even with this urgency, Lamar has a calmness about him — a rare wisdom made clear in both his music and his stage presence. This wisdom has cemented the Compton-born rapper as second to none in my mind (“Sensational” was the single word the teen sitting next to me in London could muster).

As I sat in a Spanish cafe with words nowhere near as masterful as that of Lamar himself, I took heed of the lesson learned: when the chance arises to see Kendrick Lamar perform, you go. You pack your bags, you forget your political woes, and you stock up on paracetamol, because the experience is as informative, as healing, and as hopeful as one can find in today’s ‘m.A.A.d’ world.