Sporting a bejewelled crown of thorns and with a profound sense of theatre, Lamar proves he is one of the most gifted rappers we have
draws to a close, a variation on the rumours that have abounded all weekend about Harry Styles making a secret guest appearance during one of the headline sets starts circulating. This time it involves not the former One Direction star but Eminem, who has apparently been spotted swimming at the exclusive Babington House hotel not far from the Worthy Farm site: evidence, it’s adduced, that he’s set to make a guest appearance during Kendrick Lamar’s performance.
Lamar’s set is tightly choreographed, involving two troupes of dancers, one all-male, the other all-female, their movements shifting from sinuous to militaristic. It’s also beautifully lit, frequently in stark white light, with the screens behind Lamar flashing up sections of his lyrics in vast fonts: The Blacker the Berry plays out with its angriest line – “You hate me don’t you” – towering over him. A huge Parental Guidance sticker appears during DNA.
The performance is lightly sprinkled with tracks from his recent album, Mr Morale and the Big Steppers – it opens with the frantic rhythm track of United in Grief, the screens at the side of the stage literally shaking with the sound of the bass – but draws more heavily on his back catalogue, in roughly chronological order.
The show occasionally seems slightly disjointed – the tracks are frequently interspersed with periods when the stage and the screens are just plunged into darkness – but the finale is authentically stunning. Lamar launches into Saviour, one of Mr Morale and the Big Steppers’ vexed responses to his celebrity and acclaim. The bejewelled crown of thorns starts dripping blood down Lamar’s face and spattering his shirt.