It’s been a month since Kendrick Lamar dropped his fifth studio album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. Now the Los Angeles rapper has finally delivered his first live performance since the release of his controversial double album.
Lamar headlined the first day of Spotify Beach on Monday, which is a three-day series of panels and musical entertainment that will be held at the 2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France.
K. Dot performed classic songs from his previous albums such as “Swimming Pools (Drank),” “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe,” “King Kunta,” “HUMBLE” and “DNA.”
Celebrities in the crowd to take in the performance included supermodel Naomi Campbell and Black Panther actor Winston Duke.
Despite 18 songs to perform from his 2022 album, Lamar held back from rapping any of the tracks from Mr. Morale.
The “N95” rapper might be saving those tracks for when goes on his worldwide “The Big Steppers” tour, which is not set to begin until July 19 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His cousin and frequent collaborator, Baby Keem will be joining Lamar on the 65-date tour which will travel to North America, Europe and Oceania from July to December.
With so many features on Lamar’s latest album, the possibility of surprise guests is almost endless since Mr. Morale features many notable artists, such as Summer Walker, Kodak Black, Ghostface Killah, Blxst, Thundercat and Taylour Paige.
Tickets may still be available if you check out his website.
Spotify has been a huge partner for Lamar since they created a mini-documentary for the 35-year-old rapper when he took a trip to Ghana shortly after Mr. Morale was released.
In the documentary, Lamar reflects on his fifth studio album, the death of fashion designer Virgil Abloh and therapy, which is a central theme of his 2022 album.
Anderson .Paak, a fellow California native, also graced the stage as his wig-wearing alter ego DJ Pee .Wee.