Kendrick Lamar rocked Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg this weekend with a surprise show with American Express. The Compton MC had the crowd mesmerized as he spit hits like “Money Trees,” “King Kunta” and “I Love Myself.”
Keeping the energetic crowd on its feet, Kendrick also let a few fans on stage to rock the mic. You can watch the live performance below as well as an interview as K.Dot discusses his love for music and his thought and recording processes.
XXL also caught up with Kendrick before the show where he discussed President Obama’s legacy and the POTUS’ My Brother’s Keeper initiative when he invited members of the Hip-Hop community to discuss criminal justice reform in April at The White House. Hip-Hop’s reigning lyrical king stated,
“I think the world, not just hip-hop owes him. We all have to give him his credit due for even allowing us into the building. We would probably never get inside that house ever again. Think about it like that. Rick Ross, Cole, Nicki Minaj, he really went for us to come experience it. This is something our grandparents always wanted to see, never thought in a million years, but [we can] pass it down to our generation to say, ‘Alright, I’m in here and I’m finna use my power to let y’all see how this thing works and I’mma drop some knowledge on y’all that a man can’t drop on everybody else ’cause y’all have the most influence.’”
K.Dot also spoke of meeting The President for the first time, adding,
“You look at him as such a high figure in the world, but for him to embrace you and have a connection with you further than just being the President and make you feel like an actual friend. That’s probably the best moment and one of his best characteristics. I meet a lot of people in high places and sometimes they get so detached from the world and from the people, they don’t even know how to interact with you. Basically watching him interact with my mother, my little niece, myself as a human, I think that’s the greatest thing.”
Peep the concert and interview below:
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