3 Concerts in 3 Weeks: Kendrick Lamar and SZA, Rauw Alejandro, & Rema

Watching Kendrick Lamar and SZA perform at the Gillette stadium was an amazing experience. The outdoor stadium weather was perfect too, a beautiful 70° and the the sky was crystal clear.

For SZA and Kendrick Lamar to be touring together I was interested to see how they would mesh their styles. (SZA explores heartbreak and self-growth through R&B and alternative sounds, and Kendrick characterizes his music by spoken word rap with heavy personal and and historical themes.)

And of course, they have song collabs that tailor to both of their styles, but I guess I couldn’t picture the aesthetics “matching” on the stage. But to my surprise, the set design was both very true to the both of them, and combined in a way that felt appropriate. For example, GMX car had its classic look for Kendrick’s sets and then was covered in vines and shrubs when it was SZAs turn to hit the stage to appeal to her nature aesthetic. 

Side note: Kendrick Lamar sounds EXACTLY as he does in his recordings, which was so satisfying. Secondly, SZA’s voice was beautiful live ( so the people that try to fake like she can’t sing live are idiots.)

Every single part of the screen graphics, skit segments, stage pyrotechnics, wardrobe, props, and choreography were a 10 OUT OF 10. I loved how the wardrobe and hair gave variety, but was still cohesive. Some dancers had snap backs, some beanies, some du-rags. Some had cornrows, afros, or pressed hair with bumped ends. The culture was the underlying theme so everything didn’t have to “match”! The videography team also did an incredible job of producing scenes that complimented the set and kept the crowd drawn to the story that they were creating with this show.

The east coast leg of the Grand National Tour was an amazing experience for me and I couldn’t have been happier to witness it.

My Favorite Visuals:

-SZAs ant-mobile
-The praying mantis ripping the head off of its mate as SZA performed “Kill Bill”, talk about imageryyyy
-The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture coupon food coupon displayed during “Alright”
-The highlight of a “Foo for life” tattoo. Kendrick definitely showed love to the Mexican/Chicano culture and made sure to represent that group of his fanbase.
-The stage fireworks during “All the Stars”

One of the most special aspects of the Rema concert was when he shared a short story about his humble beginnings.

He told us that one of his first shows in NYC was a club/bar with a 300 person capacity. And now he’s reached a point where he can bring out tens of thousands of supporters to Madison Square Garden. It also was his birthday the evening before and his mother was in the crowd, so it all felt very special. It was a night of celebrating a young artist that has contributed so much to Afro-beat culture and Nigerian music.

I was most looking forward to hearing Baby, Bout You, and Favorite Girl (his most recent bangerssss). At the end of a few of his songs he performed an R&B rendition of them which I loved!! .

What I appreciated about Rema’s performance that was so different from the other two was that the screen visuals weren’t so overwhelming or distracting that you were drawn to look at them more than him. Which might seem irrelevant, but we go to the concerts to watch the artists not watch tv!!

This experience made me super excited for future opportunities to see my favorite Afro-beat artists and there was some pride in witnessing the reach of African music by the energy, excitement, numbers, and diversity of the crowd.