Four years since 'King Kenny' Kendrick Lamar last set foot on Australian soil, the Grammy, American Music Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning Compton rapper has returned.
Toating his new double album 'Mr Morale And The Big Steppers', Lamar brought his sold out spectacle to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre (12 December), rounding out the Australian leg of 'The Big Steppers' tour, which is more of a theatre show than a concert – it's one of a kind.A huge crowd had already gathered upon the arrival of Kendrick's first support act, Tanna Leone. Opening with his single 'With The Villains', Leone glided comfortably around the stage, lit by moody, ambient orange light.
His presence was uncontested, egging on the crowd with lines such as "are you ready" and "which side of the crowd has more energy". In a quick 15 minutes, Tanna delivered a hyper set preparing the crowd for what was to come.
With the crowd well and truly packed in, a dark visual of a man drowning in deep blue water introduced Baby Keem. He appeared poised and collected as he raced through the opening of 'Trademark USA'. His energetic performance was welcomed by a raging crowd, the floor shaking from bass and jumping bodies.
A delayed live video feed and a strobing spotlight on the black suit-clad figure made it hard to keep focus, although not to the detriment of fans that were eating up his dance moves. While some of Keem's bigger songs were left out, it was obvious to the crowd why. "It's a motherf...in party tonight I see!"
Keem wasn't wrong; during songs like 'Moshpit' the seated crowd front to back was jumping and singing along. During a cover of Kanye West's 'Praise God', Keem was able to sit back and have the crowd perform for him.
'The Melodic Blue' rapper had the crowd in the palm of his hand and held on with an iron grip; there couldn't have been a better act to prepare for Kendrick, than Kendrick's own cousin. "Until next time, I love you."
With a crowd now 10,000-strong, the Entertainment Centre's floor seemed to disappear under the thousands of feet. The excitement in the room was clear and present as a chant erupted: "Kendrick! Kendrick! Kendrick!"
Thousands of phone cameras rose from the crowd as the intro to 'United In Grief' blasted across the Entertainment Centre. Emerging from the crowd, K.Dot's dancing entourage took position along the long stage. The large, grey curtain covering the main stage rose to reveal a figure sitting by a piano with a miniature doll. It was Kendrick.
A booming voice announced: "You've been in your comfort zone for 1,855 days, far too long." Launching into 'N95', the energy in the venue skyrocketed as fireworks blasted behind Lamar.
Songs were a medley of Kendrick and crowd; the rap giant delivering verses at brutal speeds with perfect flow, allowing the crowd to fill key lines, ad-libs or at times the full chorus of songs. Egging on screaming fans by gesturing his fingers as if to say "come on, you can do better", Kendrick playfully toyed with the crowd. "Is anyone alive right now?"
After another voice-over informed Kendrick to watch out for his ego; it took a moment for the rapper to sit at his piano for the crowd to realise what was happening. The whole venue exploded into the giant track 'Humble', featuring some mesmerising choreography from Kendrick and his entourage, which had every single punter out of their seat.
Set design was clearly a huge part of 'The Big Steppers' tour. Lighting was minimalistic, but used incredibly effectively to elevate the delivery of each song. Spotlights and strobes were a clear focus, but the way that lighting only focused on where it needed to be, and nowhere else, is something a lot of acts could learn from.
Featured in many of Lamar's 27-track show was the curtain silhouette. This became an incredible backdrop to feature in most songs, but stood out especially in tracks like 'Father Time', 'Purple Hearts + We Cry Together' and later showing a Kendrick impaled with arrows in 'Crown'.
While a lot of old favourites got the nod they deserved, some hits were raced through, only getting maybe a chorus and one verse. The crowd wasn't phased, with some favourite moments coming in tracks such as 'Backseat Freestyle', 'Alright' and 'M.A.A.D City', where the venue was lit only by Kendrick's dancers prancing around the rapper with powerful flashlights, creating their own chaotic light show.
More vulnerable moments occurred during tracks like 'Father Time', which saw the rap giant sitting alone on a chair under a deep blue light rapping about his past toxic masculinity and how he needs to reevaluate his embedded values. "You could be anywhere in the world right now, but you're here with us."
Like the album, 'The Big Steppers' concert was stuffed with interludes and deep motifs, with an ominous narrator keeping track of Kenny's every move.
While the show's narrative could be confusing or hard to follow at times, the message of overcoming one's ego and self-rediscovery found its feet in each song and did well to keep fans engaged. In one interlude, Kendrick stopped to sign an adoring fan's vinyl.
Progressing into the centre of the arena, K.Dot launched into a passionate rendition of 'Money Trees' and 'LOVE'. When a huge box descended from the ceiling, trapping Kendrick with four hazmat figures, it was announced 'it was time to take a COVID test'.
As expected, the squished Brisbane crowd was more than ready to participate in the viral "Kendrick in a box" chant. "Brisbane, are you entertained?" asked the narrator.
Now out of his box and raised high in the air, Kendrick felt powerful amongst the gawking crowd. A distraction from his entourage gave Baby Keem a surprising reintroduction; blasting onto the stage, soaked in harsh red light. Setting a raging mood for the duo, Kendrick provided lyrical support to his cousin and the crowd bounce off Keem's bars.
A standoff between Lamar and Keem brought another long awaited moment for the crowd: 'Family Ties'. In line with viral TikTok recordings of this song, two huge moshpits opened up in the crowd while the proud horns blasted around the venue. There was sweat, fire and a berzerk energy with almost everyone in the room as both rappers jumped sporadically around stage.
Tanna Leone made a special appearance for 'Mr Morale' bringing in the big guns: fire, CO2 and fireworks. The song finished with Kendrick standing in his most triumphant pose of the night.
Another moment of black and silence brought the booming bass of 'Saviour', and as it began to ripple throughout the venue, a familiar deepfake visual artist was projected onto the screen behind him.
"We pray everyone gets back home safe, we will be back." And just like that, Mr Morale and his piano sunk into the ground while his entourage skipped offstage. The curtains drew, the lights came on and the show was over.
While the ending might've been abrupt and left some fans at a loss, Mr Morale's closer reflected reality, where sometimes progress, self-betterment and life itself can finish sooner than you expected.
Motifs aside, Lamar's hour and half production of rap, dance and performance left fans awed and eager for the next chapter of Kendrick Lamar.
