R&B/Hip-Hop

The crowd roars as the lights dim, the gentle pluck of “No More Hiding” emanates out into the audience. The fans scream out hysterically as the song rolls out into the darkened stadium. SZA hasn’t stepped out yet, but the song itself is a perfect introduction for this new phase in the R&B star’s career. Despite her shy and introverted demeanor behind the mic, SZA has really taken center stage in a massive way this past year. From taking the Super Bowl stage to embarking on (likely) the biggest tour of the summer, “No More Hiding” officially announces SZA’s arrival to superstardom.

Suddenly, the stage explodes in light, and SZA floats, soars, glides or merely walks onto the arena stage, while crooning: “You push me past my own capacity, boy.” The show has officially kicked off, and SZA tears into this SOS fan favorite with all of her might.

SZA decides to keep the braggadocious energy high, diving straight into “Shirt” as the 808s shake the venue. The fans again go ballistic, crying out every syllable like it was their job. As the song’s rumbling beat closes out, the R&B star then officially welcomes the audience to the show, taking a moment to shout out the city she’s in and thank everyone for coming.

SZA then changes the vibe slightly, moving into a more emotional direction with a haunting performance of “Saturn.” The crowd settles into the show at this point, enjoying a moving run through of the song as warm lights and visuals burst out into the crowd.

The energy then picks up slightly, as SZA moves without interruption into “I Hate U.” The crowd roars back to life again, as all the singer’s heartbroken supporters coo along to every word with conviction.

“I Hate U” then abruptly pivots into the first three guitar licks on “Scorsese Baby Daddy.” Everyone knows it’s time to party again. The crowd stands and pops off as SZA struts around the stage, backup dancers emerging to drive each lyric home.

The drums that close out “Scorsese Baby Daddy” then dissolve into the groove of “Drew Barrymore.” Once again, the fans lose it, and SZA merely smiles and holds out the mic as her supporters carry the song for her. “Somebody get the tacos,” they scream. “Somebody spark a blunt, let’s start the Narcos off at episode one!” SZA then comes in at the first chorus and the rest is history.

The “Drew Barrymore” violins that close out the song suddenly evaporate — and all SZA needs to sing is, “Need you for the old me,” before the crowd knows exactly what time it is. “Garden (Say It Like Dat)” runs all the way through, as the R&B star continues to show some love to her Ctrl fans.

SZA then brings the party energy back with a quick run through “BMF.” Fans dance, her lyrical savants scream along to every word, and SZA offers words of encouragement throughout the song’s bridge before the beat drops in the chorus. “[enter city name here], let me hear you!” she screams out. Instead of the last verse, however, she lets the song’s beat play out, vibing and grooving on stage as her band brings down the house. A guitar player shreds through a quick solo before “BMF” cuts off, the stage descending into complete darkness. Fans erupt in support.

As a spotlight returns to the stage, SZA is standing there with her guitar player next to her, bathed in a blue hue as she does a barebones rendition of “Drive.” Many fans just watch and listen as SZA reminds them of her commanding stage presence. While the recorded version of the song slowly fades out, “Drive” instead comes to a close after SZA delivers the last chorus completely a cappella, her guitar player walking back to the band. After she sings “just gotta get my head right,” the stage lights up in a sepia glow. SZA doesn’t move, but her band behind her dives right into “Kitchen.” SZA and her fans cry out every word, or just cry.

The light on the stage fades out alongside the gentle coos of the closing moments to “Kitchen,” and the fans cheer and cheer and cheer. Then, suddenly, the “SOS” gunshot erupts in the darkness. The stage detonates back to life, and SZA delivers the intro’s braggadocious bars as the beats horns fill the venue. We are now hitting the peak of SZA’s set, and her powerful run through of the self-empowering bars to her sophomore set’s title track excite the fans, who know she’s still got a few hits to rattle off before she’s done for the night. SZA makes good on that promise almost immediately, as the glitching vocals that close out “SOS” pivot immediately into her beloved smash “Kill Bill.” The stadium shakes with energy, and SZA can’t even be heard over the fans.

Another fan favorite from the Ctrl era, the energy stays at a high as SZA slides into “Prom.” True fans know exactly what comes after “Prom” in the tracklist, so they wait with baited breath as SZA closes out the song’s final a cappella bars.

Sure enough, SZA moves right into her beloved smash hit “The Weekend.” The first chorus comes as expected. Then, after SZA wraps the second verse, the drums break things down for a moment before the tempo picks up. SZA closes out “The Weekend” with the song’s Calvin Harris Remix, which adds a welcomed groove to the track to get the fans on their feet and dancing.

From there, it’s right into her beloved “Broken Clocks,” which keeps the groove alive as fans sing every word and dance along. No SZA show would be complete without this track, and she makes sure to play it all the way through so her fans can soak up every minute. As the song’s beat rides out, SZA compliments the crowd and tells them how beautiful they are and how much fun she’s had vibing out with everyone.

As “Snooze” opens with its ghostly backing vocals, SZA takes a moment to thank everyone for coming and to thank her supporters for all the love. She gets people excited for Kendrick Lamar, and then slides right into the smash hit. The crowd can feel SZA’s time on stage is ending, and worried fans jump and scream and sing like their life depended on it. “Snooze” then closes out and the stage again goes dark. Fans cheer and chant for one more song as the silent darkness settles over the stadium.

But she’s not done yet! A warm blue light again returns to the stage and SZA returns to the stage as her band plays the opening chords of “Nobody Gets Me.” However, she only performs up until the end of the song’s first chorus, because no way SZA’s going out on a slow note. As she cries out, “Nobody gets me, you do,” the guitars fall away and Travis Scott’s “I need, I need,” rumbles out across the speakers. SZA calls out to her fans to sing as loud as they can, and they do not disappoint as she moves into “Love Galore.”

Following the explosive closure of “Love Galore,” the beat for “Good Days” begins to trickle in. SZA again thanks her fans for coming, and shows them some love one last time before closing out her time on stage with the emotional “Good Days.” Fans cheer once more, but everyone knows her time is not done. After all, her and K-Dot have plenty of songs they’ll need to play before the night is over.

After a brief break, the stage again becomes enshrouded in darkness. On the screen, a compilation of news clips and accolades bestowing Kendrick Lamar as the victor in last year’s historical feud plays on the screen. The crowd explodes in excitement as the montage of clips continue to celebrate Kendrick Lamar’s Pop Out performance, his performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, and how “Not Like Us” became the song of the year. It then closes out with the Grammy sweep of “Not Like Us,” and includes a clip of Kendrick’s acceptance speech.

The montage closes out with people deeming Kendrick to be the greatest rapper of all time, then the screen goes dark. “Siento aqui tu presencia/ La noche de anoche/ Y nos ponemos a llorar” blares across the speakers. Kendrick is not on stage yet, but he can be heard diving into the opening bars of “Wacced Out Murals” as flashes of red light coincide with the violent staccato of the violins that perforate the beat.

Then, right after Kendrick raps, “Ridin’ in my GNX with Anita Baker in the tape deck,” the drums finally come in, and he emerges. K-Dot casually walks onto the stage as the crowd goes wild, but doesn’t lose focus as he continues to spit the vindictive lyrics of GNX’s opener. The song then comes to an explosive end after K-Dot raps to the crowd: “Yeah, n—a, if they say it’s love, you’ve been lied to/ A couple rules of engagements, here to guide you.” Kendrick stands and takes in the crowd, who are becoming more unhinged with energy by the moment. He breathes and lets the applause wash over him.

Then, with no announcement or warning, Kendrick launches into “DNA.” The beloved DAMN track truly brings the crowd alive, as they bounce and rap along to the energetic track. Kendrick of course raps every bar, strutting around the stage as visuals and colors blast around him. After closing out the explosive song, Kendrick shouts out the city, welcomes everyone to the show, and addresses everyone with his signature “I go by the name of Kendrick Lamar” introduction.

Kendrick then keeps his foot on the crowd’s throats by soaring into “Backseat Freestyle.” The crowd will scream “Martin had a dream! Kendrick had a dream!” Pandemonium will soon follow. Good times will be had.

As one of the standouts from his Mr. Morale era, Kendrick then runs through “N95,” a triumphant track that’s sure to keep the energy high for the crowd.

As “N95’s” beat extinguishes, Kendirck allows the hushed scraping of “Hey Now” to envelope the crowd. He then quietly begins spitting the song’s bars, keeping the energy contained for a moment as he appeals to his West Coast supporters with the bouncy track.

After “Hey Now,” it’s back to the archives. Kendrick erupts into “Money Trees,” dialing the energy back up to 11 as the bass rattles the stage around him. The audience knows every word here, but Kendrick keeps his lyricism going as he spits each syllable at them. Considering his penchant for avoiding good kid tracks during live performances, this will likely be one of the only ones fans will hear.

After wrapping up “Money Trees,” the opening moments of “King Kunta” bubble into the loudspeakers. Kendrick then dives right into the funky To Pimp a Butterfly track, as the crowd continues to groove without missing a step.

In another nod to his Mr. Morale era, Kendrick then revisits his catchy bop “Rich Spirit,” and at the two-minute mark, switches it up into “Swimming Pools.” This moment appeals to both his day ones as well as those that enjoyed his 2022 album, and the switch-up gets the crowd to go wild.

Love and loyalty are two virtues that Kendrick swears by, and two that have especially mattered a lot this past year. So with that being said, it makes sense he’d play these cherished DAMN. tracks back-to-back.

As the horns blast out the speaker, Kendrick gives his supporters a taste of what’s to come. He quickly tears through his verse on “Like That” before switching into a full run through of “Euphoria.”

Right as the fans call out “We don’t wanna hear you say n—a no more!” Kendrick goes right into “Humble.,” once again keeping his foot on his supporters’ throats.

Then, without intro, the soulful vocals of “Peekaboo” start up, and before the drums kick in everyone knows what time it is. Kendrick merely lets the crowd go off for the song’s first moments. “What they talkin’ bout? They ain’t talkin bout nothin’!” the crowd screams before Kendrick launches into the track.

K-Dot then slows things down, taking a moment to speak to his fans. Thanking them for coming. Maybe throwing some subliminal shade at certain rappers from Canada? Who knows. But after a few kind words, he throws his Section.80 supporters a bone with a quick run through of “A.D.H.D.”

After “A.D.H.D.” fades out, it’s back to business as usual, and Kendrick dives unprompted into “Squabble Up.” Crip walks fill the stadium.

The hits keep coming as Kendrick then goes into “m.A.A.d City,” causing fans to likely melt as they lose their voices calling out every syllable of the beloved track.

As Mustard’s beat fills the stadium, Kendrick agains thank everyone for coming out and for showing their support. He hypes up the crowd before the biggest “TV Off” moment, and pause the beat to allow fans “MUSTAAAARD” cries to soak the air. He then closes out the song with a bang, as darkness descends upon the stage. Many fans are confused: “That can’t be it right? There has to be more.”

Lights then gently illuminate the stage as “All The Stars” opening chords ring through the venue. Relieved fans cheer that there’s more to come. SZA then steps out on her own to deliver the Black Panther soundtrack hit’s iconic hook. Kendrick then walks back out on stage, as the pair run through their adored teamup.

Without warning, SZA calsl out “only want your love if it’s solid!” Fans know exactly what’s to come, and indeed, the duo runs through the LANA hit “30 for 30.”

The duo then take a moment to hug, maybe banter a bit, and then ask each other if they should take it back to 2017 for a minute. “Doves in the Wind” plays, as day-ones rejoice.

Then of course, the two stars give the fans what they want: a live performance of “Luther.” Fans cry, scream, sing — emotions are at an all-time high at this point. SZA then takes a bow, says her goodbyes, and depart. Kendrick champions SZA, calls her the GOAT, and maybe speaks for a moment before…

Wop, Wop, Wop, Wop Wop. Need we say more?

But closing out the night on a diss track wouldn’t be a very Kendrick move. Instead, he closes on the anthem that’s become one of his signature singles — a song that champions the Black experience and became an anti-racism chant against a president who now once again resides in the White House. Fans will leave the night empowered, rather than hungry for Drake’s blood.