Kendrick wore a blue prison uniform, chains, and shackles on stage at the 2016 Grammys, where the rapper, his all-black dance crews, and his saxman, Terrace Martin, performed the most important music of a generation. At a primetime awards show bogged down by ballads and tributes, with minimal rhythm, Lamar lit the night with bonfire pyrotechnics. He performed a medley of his two recent hits, “The Blacker the Berry” and then “Alright,” followed by the third installment of his live untitled freestyle series, with a silhouette of the African continent as his backdrop; the Sahara read “Compton.”
Lamar’s insurgent anthems, his latest music videos, and now his performance Monday night all provide a new, 21st century blueprint for pop music as activism. “I want you to recognize that I’m a proud monkey,” Lamar rapped to the largely white, black-tie crowd at the Staples Center.
On stage, Kendrick Lamar and Hamilton were the highlights. Lamar went in to this year’s Grammy ceremony with 11 nominations and walked off with five wins. On the strength of To Pimp a Butterfly, one of the most provocative albums in recent memory, Lamar earned the official, mainstream accolades that many rap fans suggest he’s been due for a few years now. In fact, last night’s award tally is a revenge of sorts for Lamar, who lost the Best Rap Album category to the white boy Macklemore in 2014.