In late October it was announced that Kendrick Lamar would play an insanely tiny show at Webster Hall as a part of the “1st Annual Kunta’s Groove Sessions” live tour for his 2015 classic To Pimp A Butterfly. Demand was so feverish that tickets sold out in seconds, leaving many fans disappointed. In a surprising move a few days later they announced that the show was moved to the slightly larger Terminal 5, still a pretty intimate place to catch the now trademark name that is Kendrick Lamar.
To Pimp A Butterfly wasn’t your traditional album, so of course the Kunta’s Groove Sessions wasn’t your typical live show. Broken up into three acts, Lamar gave us all of To Pimp A Butterfly as well as good kid, m.A.A.d city standards such as “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe,” “Swimming Pools (Drank),” and “Money Trees.”
The most powerful moment came during the encore, where Lamar combined “Alright” along with some powerful political and personal messages that spoke to the entire audience, the sort of thing that is much bigger than just a concert. It spoke to you on a much deeper level, which is something that can be said about all of Kendrick’s work so far. He’s just working on another level right now.
Find some photos from his performance (non photo pit) posted below, along with the setlist.
Kendrick Lamar Setlist:
(Act 1)
1. For Free? (With Extended Intro by The Wesley Theory)
2. Wesley’s Theory
3. Institutionalized (Interlude)
4. Backseat Freestyle
5. Swimming Pools (Drank)
6. These Walls
(Act 2)
7. For Sale?
8. Hood Politics
9. Complexion (A Zulu Love) (Interlude)
10. Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe
11. Money Trees
12. m.A.A.d city
13. u (Extended Outro)
14. Freestyle (Spoken Word Interlude)
15. King Kunta
(Act 3)
16. Momma
17. i
18. How Much a Dollar Cost (Interlude)
19. The Blacker the Berry
20. Mortal Man
Encore:
21. Alright
Kendrick Lamar:
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