Kendrick Lamar delivered an intimate performance of songs from his Mr Morale & The Big Steppers album in London this week.
The Compton rapper headed to Soho for a private event in the early hours of Thursday morning (November 10), performing “Father Time” with London’s own Sampha, along with “Count Me Out,” “Die Hard,” “Savior,” “Rich Spirit” and “Purple Hearts.” K. Dot addressed the audience during the set and made a joke about people talking in the crowd.
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“London, what’s the deal?” he said. “You know, a n-gga gotta come out and fuck with y’all. We did three nights at The O2 thanks to you muthafuckas out there. We always gotta come and check out the vibe and the energy of the city so it’s only right we come out here and do some small intimate shit like this.”
He added: “All you n-ggas in the back, I hope y’all drunk as fuck ’cause y’all yapping like a muthafucka.”
Kendrick Lamar performed at The O2 in London on November 7, 8 and 9 as part of the European leg of his Big Steppers Tour. The back-to-back performances followed other UK shows in Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle and Birmingham.
K. Dot previously headlined the UK’s Glastonbury Festival in June in one of his first performances since releasing Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.
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During the emphatic performance, Kendrick famously wore a Tiffany and Co. crown of thorns worth $3 million, along with unreleased Louis Vuitton clothing from top to bottom.
He also delivered a powerful plea for women’s rights just days after the U.S. Supreme Court controversially overturned Roe vs. Wade, stripping women of their constitutional right to abortion.
London has played an important role in Kendrick Lamar’s career. During an interview with Complex alongside Kobe Bryant in 2017, he explained the significance of the city.
“I think the moment I was able to go overseas, and I think it was a show in London,” he said. “I’m doing my raps or whatever, and I see the people in the front row reciting these lyrics as if they wrote them inside my mom’s kitchen where I was at writing them.
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“And this right here took my whole approach and appreciation for music on a whole another level, because now I see that these words just not for me and my friends. There’s people that actually connect with them that I’ve never met, and that’s when I felt like I’ve arrived. This is not just something I do for fun.”
He added: “I’ma always do it for fun, but now I see that other people enjoy it the same way we enjoy it, and that gave me another fuel and battery in my back to keep doing it.”
