Kendrick Lamar creates rap magic in spectacular Sydney show | James Jennings
Lamar understands how to stage a proper spectacle: there’s an endlessly inventive theatricality at play throughout, whether it’s Lamar rapping while holding a ventriloquist dummy of himself, giant silhouette projections, a piano that intermittently rises from beneath the stage for Lamar to play or a large, transparent cube populated by men in hazmat suits who give Lamar a COVID test.
That’s not to mention the retina-searing pyrotechnics, a stunning light show, 11 dancers and a cameo from Lamar’s 22-year-old cousin Baby Keem for the Grammy-winning songThere’s not a lot of stage banter from Lamar, but there doesn’t need to be: everything that must be said is done so through the music and engrossing visuals, Lamar rapping with masterful control and well-earned confidence.
Although he performs with a calm stoicism, a beaming smile breaks out across Lamar’s face a couple of times during the show, the MC moved enough to drop the straight-faced facade and soak up the intense joy being projected onto him by the audience. He’s right to bask in it, and the crowd is right to feel it: this is a top-tier, era-defining artist at the peak of his powers, triumphantly stationed at the centre of a complex, endlessly fascinating universe of his own creation.
To simply say Lamar can rap is like saying Picasso can pick up a pencil: what he does is deliver a complete artistic vision that’s unlike anything else, and to see it come to life in real-time is to know you’re in the presence of greatness.A cultural guide to going out and loving your city.
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