Let’s keep it a buck—what Kendrick Lamar and SZA are doing on the Grand National Tour is something we’ve never seen before. Not like this. Not from a rapper. And definitely not on this scale.
Now, I may or may not have caught a certain livestream on YouTube (clears throat), but even through a screen, it’s clear this tour is something different. This isn’t just about bangers and Billboard hits—though they’ve got plenty. It’s about vision. Legacy. Artistry in its most intentional form.
Kendrick isn’t just rapping, he’s architecting. Opening the show seated in a Buick GNX as smoke rises and lyrics pour out like gospel? That’s cinematic. From “Euphoria” to “TV Off” to a stripped-down “Swimming Pools,” he’s not just performing the hits—he’s reimagining them. And when “Not Like Us” hits? It’s a moment. Not because of beef—but because of the precision, the pageantry, the punctuation.
Then you’ve got SZA—our modern-day siren, flying through the air with butterfly wings, crouching onstage in full praying mantis regalia, and still belting out raw heartbreak like she’s in your living room. Her vocals have grown sharper, her stage presence deeper. There’s something ancestral about it—earthy, ethereal, and rooted in R&B tradition. Together, Kendrick and SZA aren’t just collaborators. They’re a modern-day duet dynamic, echoing the energy of Luther & Cheryl Lynn, Donny & Roberta, or Marvin & Tammi—but with 808s, deposition videos, and cultural commentary baked into the setlist.
The tour is structured in acts—his set, her set, then sets together—and woven through it all is a story about art, identity, and endurance. Songs like “Luther” and “Gloria” don’t just top charts; they feel like declarations. A grown man and woman holding the weight of their generation, and lifting us with them.
And let’s be honest, this isn’t just a win for Kendrick and SZA—it’s a win for real rap and real R&B. The kind that speaks to your spirit and shakes the stadium. After 50 years of hip-hop, it feels good to see something this polished, this unapologetic, and this deeply Black command the spotlight.
The Grand National Tour isn’t a victory lap. It’s a blueprint. One day, folks will say they were there—or at least, watched a certain livestream. As for me, see you in Toronto!
