ICYMI Kendrick Lamar slayed Allphones Arena last night. The 28-year-old West Coast rapper and 18,000 of his closest friends packed out the arena for what we reckon was one of the best hip hop gigs we've ever been to (and yep, he was way better than Kanye). But to call it just a hip hop gig would be derivative – the show couldn't be tied down to a single genre, with the set list navigating funk, jazz and soul jams. The hyper energy of the music was balanced out with some personal moments with Kendrick preaching to the crowd, "I see black, green, yellow and purple. But the reason why you're all here is for the music."
And said music was on point. The show also delivered the perfect mix of old ('Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe' and 'm.A.A.d city' were highlights) and new (he opened with 'For Free' and did a cracker rendition of 'Alright' for his first encore).
Kendrick also paid tribute to the late Phife Dawg, explaining "We're going to give it up for him – he allowed me to do what I'm doing right here on this stage".
King Kendrick lured us in with one of the best albums of 2015, and last night he backed it up with an unforgettable live show.