Kendrick Lamar electrifies Melbourne with explosive AAMI Park stadium spectacle
Kendrick Lamar has delivered a spectacular two-hour show at AAMI Park, complete with explosives and elaborate staging that transformed hip hop into a stadium masterclass.
Kendrick Lamar lit up AAMI Park on Wednesday night with rap anthems, mesmerising production, and enough explosives to rival Melbourne’s New Year’s Eve fireworks.
Lamar’s Grand National show was a masterclass in the limitless boundaries of hip hop as a stadium spectacle.
He’s done it before, of course, with his Super Bowl halftime performance earlier this year.
But Lamar’s Grand National show took those ideas, some deeper themes and, yes, a few Easter eggs, and rolled them into a two-hour, 30-song extravaganza that blasted off — literally, with fireworks and shooting flames — from the opener, Wacced Out Murals, and kept dazzling with every turn.
The stage — a T-shaped runway flanked by giant video screens, packed most of its tricks in a theatrical centrepiece, with set changes including a doomy industrial cage, a hilarious car interior with an 8-track music player, fluffy dice, and air freshener.
Lamar, from Compton, California, is one of the greatest rappers of all time. On Wednesday night, under a perfect Melbourne night sky, his flows were tight and precise.
“We’d like to thank everybody for coming out tonight,” he told the Melbourne crowd. “You could be anywhere in the world, but you’re right here with us, right now.”
Highlights included Like That, soaked in barrage of red light and droning beats, classic hits Alright, HUMBLE., Swimming Pools (Drank), new favourites Luther and Love, and the iconic diss track Not Like Us which, despite its heavy insult count, became a joyous technicolour celebration.
Not Like Us sent the sold-out crowd at AAMI Park wild.
The show also featured video clips, played between songs, of Lamar being “interrogated” — underscoring familiar themes of justice, perception and identity.
Kendrick Lamar performs a second and final show, supported by Doechii, at AAMI Park on Thursday night.
Tickets: livenation.com.au
Originally published as Kendrick Lamar electrifies Melbourne with explosive AAMI Park stadium spectacle
