It’s finally here! After a record-breaking Superbowl halftime performance, Kendrick Lamar & SZA have embarked on one of the biggest concert tours of the year, doing stadium-sized shows across North America and Europe. The tour has taken them through most of the USA so far, and the sole stop in Canada would be these two shows in Toronto, with both of them co-headlining the Rogers Centre (f/k/a the Skydome) for the first time.

Some could say the hype for these two shows in particular has been building for over a year, ever since Kendrick Lamar had his infamous beef with Drake and the two traded diss tracks, culminating in what would become the most Grammy-awarded song in recording history: “Not Like Us.” In a lyrical battle that could draw comparisons to iconic Hip-Hop moments like Jay-Z vs. Nas or 50 Cent vs. Ja Rule, you had to wonder how the fans would react when Kendrick performed the diss track in Drake’s hometown, in the biggest venue the city has to offer (which Drake has never headlined himself). It would also be interesting just to see how the show would go down, given that artists who’ve beefed with Drake in the past, or even affiliated with those artists, have either had drama unfold at their shows (Pusha T at The Danforth in 2018) or had their shows mysteriously cancelled altogether (Top Dawg Entertainment artists SiR and Schoolboy Q in 2024).

The Grand National Tour is about celebrating more than just the success of one song though. After his battle with Drake, Kendrick Lamar went on to release his sixth album, GNX, which is already making waves at award shows and is bound to be nominated at next year’s Grammys. The new album is a short but fun ride with Kendrick that’s less concept-driven than his previous projects, but makes for a worthy addition to what’s becoming one of the most acclaimed discographies in Hip-Hop. Let’s also not forget 2012’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City is still continuing to set the record for the longest charting Hip-Hop album in Billboard history, a testament to the longevity Kendrick has achieved over his career.

Meanwhile, SZA is having herself a career-defining year, releasing a deluxe edition of her 2022 sophomore album SOS titled Lana to critical acclaim, and making her acting debut by starring in the hit comedy One of Them Days. She also racked up a 2025 Grammy for Best R&B Song for her single “Saturn,” and has over a decade of collaborations with Kendrick and the TDE family. Fans have been waiting since The Championship Tour in 2018 (which SZA had to back out of due to injury) to see her and Kendrick perform live together, and they’d finally get that moment with The Grand National Tour.

With this being a Hip-Hop blog often covering the underground, I have to point out that rappers don’t make it to the Skydome without going a little commercial, and not just with their musical style; there would literally be ads for Cash App and a Chanel commercial co-starring Kendrick Lamar playing on the jumbo screens to start the show, bringing a moment of corporate cringe before the party got started. This would quickly get redeemed by DJ Mustard, who was opening for both nights and would perform an eclectic DJ set to pick the energy up. Even though Kendrick may be one of the biggest names in Hip-Hop, you could tell that this wasn’t necessarily a Hip-Hop crowd, with Mustard quickly skipping through classics like Black Sheep’s “The Choice Is Yours” and Ludacris’ “Move Bitch” after just playing snippets in favour of getting a full blown singalong going to Miley Cyrus’ “Party In The USA.” A move like that would never fly at an actual Hip-Hop show, but Kendrick and SZA have of course been able to reach a fan base that goes beyond just Hip-Hop heads, with plenty of fans happily joining in.

Being an accomplished producer in his own right, Mustard would of course play some of his own hits he’s produced as well, including 2 Chainz’ “I’m Different,” YG’s “My N****” and Big Sean’s “I Don’t Fuck With You.” Just having him in the building added excitement to see some of his more recent collaborations with Kendrick Lamar get performed later on in the evening, including GNX standouts “TV Off” and “Hey Now,” and of course the aforementioned “Not Like Us.” DJ Mustard would hold it down for a solid half hour and regardless of what kind of music fan you were, he had the building in a party vibe before the main event got started.

After a quick video interlude establishing the theme of Kendrick Lamar & SZA portraying two outlaws on the run, cheers would erupt from the crowd as Mexican singer Deyra Barrera’s vocals from the GNX album intro played through the speakers, and the Buick vehicle the album is named after could be seen rising to the stage. The jumbo screens would show Kendrick Lamar rapping the intro “Wacced Out Murals” from within the car, and he’d step out to applause as the dramatic beat built up and his raps got more aggressive, fireworks eventually going off as he rapped the lyrics “I used to bump Tha Carter III, held my Rollie chain proud / Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down.” The energy would get cranked as he went on to perform another GNX standout, “Squabble Up,” and the dance vibes continued as the track smoothly transitioned into the upbeat throwbacks “King Kunta” and “Element.”

Kendrick Lamar’s first set on stage was straight flames, as he kept the energy up consistently along with his backup dancers and the full-scale pyrotechnics you’d expect at a stadium show. He’d close out this first segment with a hype performance of the first half of “TV Off” before the beat switch. Just as he got to the halfway point of the song and the crowd was ready to scream “MUSTAAAARRRRDDDD,” the lights would go dark instead and a video interlude would play on the screens showing SZA in a deposition, continuing the outlaw theme.

The lights would come on to reveal the Buick GNX being lifted again to the stage, now being covered in leaves, with the spotlight on SZA sitting on the hood of the car. She’d climb down to perform the Lana track “30 for 30” with Kendrick Lamar before taking over the stage with her own backup dancers, going into the throwback “Love Galore.” I’ll admit I wasn’t as familiar with SZA’s songs, not being much of an R&B head, but she had the ladies in the crowd grooving as she performed several throwbacks from her 2017 debut album, Ctrl, nailing her choreography on “Broken Clocks” and closing out her first set with “The Weekend.”

There would be another video interlude, this time with Kendrick being talked into opening a fortune cookie by a girlfriend, and the jumbo screens would show the words “Lies About Me / Truths About You” separating to reveal a platform behind them. From atop the platform, Kendrick would kick off an absolutely fierce performance of one of his Drake disses, “Euphoria,” nailing the rapid-fire flow and having perfectly timed fireworks and pyrotechnics going off at certain punchlines. With no intention of softening the performance for Drake’s hometown, he’d run across all platforms of the stage and had the crowd filling in his adlibs as he rapped the entire song, closing the track by singing at the top of his lungs “we don’t wanna hear you say ‘n****’ no more!!” This was an early contender for the most hype song of the entire night.

Sticking to the new music for a bit, Kendrick would next perform a sequence from his GNX album, doing “Hey Now” and getting heads nodding, immediately followed by the 2Pac-inspired “Reincarnated” with his dancers nailing their choreography around him. The new joints would be spread out throughout the evening though, as another video interlude played with Kendrick in a deposition interview, being accused of being an attention-seeker, and would be followed by several throwbacks. The crowd got hyped as the beat dropped for “Humble,” which used to be Kendrick’s biggest song and the one he’d end his shows with on The DAMN Tour. With him pulling it out nearly midway through the show, you knew he had a lot in store for the fans.

Kendrick kept the energy up as he took it back to 2012 with “Backseat Freestyle,” and after a performance of his Baby Keem collab “Family Ties,” he’d take a moment to slow down and reflect on his day-one fans. Highlighting his Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City album, he’d begin performing an acapella version of “Swimming Pools (Drank),” but just as the crowd was about to join in singing the chorus, he’d start rapping a slowed down version of “M.A.A.D. City” instead. The jumbo screens would prominently show the single art from Anita Baker’s “Sweet Love,” and Kendrick and his dancers would go on to perform an alternate, more dramatic version of “M.A.A.D. City” over that sample, picking up the speed and yet allowing Kendrick’s vocals and lyrics to cut through more sharply with the stripped-down beat. Flames would shoot up from the stage as the song ended with that “every time I’m in the street, I hear ‘yawk, yawk, yawk, yawk!'”, and this made for a dope transition into the To Pimp A Butterfly single, “Alright,” which of course had Pharrell’s trademark 4-count intro to pair up the two songs perfectly.

After nailing his flow for the first verse of “Alright” and getting the crowd to join in on the hook, Kendrick made his way back to the center of the stage, where his Buick GNX was waiting for him. With the lights going dark and the energy mellowing out, he’d perform another GNX cut, “Man At The Garden,” which emulates the slow crescendo from Nas’ “One Mic,” crouching atop the hood of the car as his raps steadily got more aggressive. The car would then lower underneath the stage, and a video interlude would show some of the imagery of bugs and nature from SZA’s Lana album art. It was time for SZA to return to the stage, and she’d come in performing the upbeat Lana cut “Scorsese Baby Daddy.”

For this segment of the show, SZA would lean more into her rock-oriented tracks, with guitarists occasionally joining her on stage and her dancers dressed in insect costumes as she continued with the SOS cut “F2F.” Between the two nights of the concert, this is also where the only differences in the setlists were, as she’d pick a different Ctrl throwback to perform each night; the first concert got to see a performance of “Garden (Say It Like Dat)” while night two got “Drew Barrymore.” Besides the Ctrl selection, most of this set would pull from either SOS or Lana, as SZA got on top of a mechanical ant to ride as she performed “Kitchen,” and had pyrotechnics raining down as she performed “Blind.”

SZA would next throw the fans a curveball, performing her guest feature on the Rihanna song “Consideration” along with some dance choreography. She’d then follow this up with what may have been the most hype song of her performance so far, getting all the pyrotechnics and flames to shoot out as she performed “Low,” complete with an added guitar solo by her guitarist and even doing the splits during her dance. While some parts of her songs have a ton of added vocal effects on the album version, she really let her actual vocal range shine in the live performance, cutting through and projecting a lot stronger in person than on the record.

After the fierce performance on “Low,” SZA would slow it back down and get into the steady-paced throwback, “Doves In The Wind,” with Kendrick Lamar of course returning to the stage to perform his featured verse. With both of them now on stage, it was the perfect time for them to perform another one of their collaborations, and so they’d get the fans to all light up their cell phones for the Black Panther Soundtrack hit, “All The Stars,” the effect making the stadium look like a sky full of stars to fit the song. With some added fireworks to mark the end of the song and SZA nailing her vocals, the anthem was even more epic. For one last collaboration, they’d pull off something unexpected, with Kendrick performing a deep album cut off of his DAMN album, “Love,” and SZA covering the Zacari vocals on the track. Catching fans by surprise, SZA sounded perfectly in pocket with her cover, pulling it off effortlessly.

Continuing to take turns having the spotlight, SZA would return backstage and Kendrick Lamar would next get to perform another solo set, doing a couple more GNX tracks with “Dodger Blue” and “Peekaboo,” the dancers on point for the latter track. He’d then alternate between his features on other artists songs and his own album cuts, doing a hype performance of the verse that started all the disses between him and Drake, “Like That,” followed by the DAMN standout “DNA.” Rather than doing the rapid-fire third verse on “DNA” after the beat switches, Kendrick would instead go into his feature on Playboi Carti’s “Good Credit” before pulling out his first joint of the evening off of 2022’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, “Count Me Out.”

While the relatively newer joints got a lot of energy out of the crowd, there were plenty of day-one fans in the building who got loud when Kendrick mentioned he’d do a few songs for them. Some fans in my section on day two were shouting out Section.80, but Kendrick would continue to ignore his 2011 indie debut (as he’s done on past tours) and stick strictly to Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City when referring to his day-ones. He’d get the crowd singing along to the intro and hook from “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe,” and had the energy cranked as he performed the classic “Money Trees.” To close out his set, he’d pull out a rare album cut I hadn’t seen him do since The Yeezus Tour in 2013, “Poetic Justice,” which ironically features Drake from a time when they used to get along. Obviously he’d cut the song before it got to Drake’s verse, walking underneath the stage with his dancers as the lights went dark again.

Keeping up with her insect themes, SZA would return to the stage riding in like a caterpillar on what looked like a huge turtle shell filled with lights. She’d climb down and get into some soulful vibes, performing her songs “I Hate U” and “Go Gina” over the beat from Ice Cube’s “It Was A Good Day,” even doing a short cover/interpolation for a few bars of the song that was sampled to make that beat, “Footsteps In The Dark” by The Isley Brothers. She’d then lock in to her SOS album, performing fan favourites including “Kill Bill” and “Snooze,” joined by her dancers who of course had some dope choreography to fit the tone.

There would be another short video interlude to make time for an outfit change, and SZA would return wearing a dress with a set of butterfly wings. She’d be lifted into the air by a harness, revealing her dress to be shaped like a cocoon when left to hang beneath her for a few feet, and the dress would drop to symbolize her becoming a butterfly. Now flying from the rafters in front of a starry backdrop, SZA would get into a mellow performance of the acoustic “Nobody Gets Me,” captivating the crowd with her ability to croon while hanging up in the air. She’d return to the ground as the song closed, landing in a grassy patch that was placed on stage, and performing “Good Days” from her grassy throne, surrounded by dancers.

Moving on from the slow jams and looking to end her set with a bang, SZA got into some more up-tempo songs you could dance to, notably performing her feature on Drake’s “Rich Baby Daddy” that also features Sexyy Red on the hook saying “shake that ass for Drake, now shake that ass for me.” I suppose it’s ironic having one of Drake’s own songs get performed at a concert that’s getting most of its publicity from the disses towards him. The crowd was turned up regardless, and SZA would continue with more pop songs to keep them dancing, getting the crowd grooving to the Lana cut “BMF” before closing out with her Doja Cat collab “Kiss Me More.”

There would be one last video interlude to transition from SZA back to Kendrick, and Kendrick would return to the stage performing the Mr. Morale standout, “N95,” with fireworks adding to the energy. As a fan who missed out on The Big Steppers Tour in 2022, this one was appreciated. You could get a sense that we were nearing the end of the show, as it was nothing but flames and high energy, Kendrick topping himself with each track. They’d drop the beat for the second half of “TV Off,” and the crowd finally got to live out that moment of yelling “MUSTAAAARRRRDDDD!!!!” in unison. This time DJ Mustard would actually join Kendrick on stage as Kendrick ripped through his verse, and there would be a ton of fireworks and dancers adding to the energy of the track.

The most anticipated moment of the night came next, as another video interlude showed Kendrick being questioned about May 4th, 2024, which is of course the date that “Not Like Us” came out. As soon as the clip ended, the beat to the infamous Drake diss would drop, flames would shoot out of the stage, and cheers erupted in the crowd all at the same time. The crowd was definitely down with the diss track, getting loud and joining Kendrick to shout out key lines in the song like “say Drake, I heard you like ’em young,” “Certified Lover Boy? Naw, certified pedophile!,” and of course “try’na strike a chord and it’s probably A-minoooorrrrrrr!!!!” It was easily the most hype performance of the night, the song flawlessly written for Kendrick to make his point across three verses, have the pocket to shoutout whatever city he happens to be in at the perfect moment, and of course the chants and dance routines that go along with it. The fans happily joined in on the “O-V-Hoe!” chants, and they even cheered for an encore after the song ended.

Kendrick would stand in silence and darkness for a few minutes, listening to the fans cheer him on and seeing the entire stadium eventually light up their cell phones without being asked to. Although most wanted an encore of “Not Like Us,” Kendrick would instead go into a performance of the GNX single that’s currently dominating the charts, “Luther,” and of course brought SZA back on stage so they could perform their collaboration together. Making their way between platforms as they performed the grand finale, Kendrick and SZA would take a moment to shoutout the fans at the front of the stage, and would perform one more song as they made their way back: the closer to the GNX album, “Gloria.” As they closed out the final song, they would return to the Buick and Kendrick would open the passenger door for SZA before joining her in the car, thanking the crowd one more time before being lowered below the stage.

Overall, Kendrick Lamar & SZA’s performance was an epic 2.5 hour event that saw history being made. Although Jay-Z has co-headlined the Skydome in the past, Kendrick Lamar is the first Hip-Hop artist to do it twice on consecutive nights, both shows having sold-out crowds (even if prices needed to drop by more than half on the second show for him to pull it off). The way Kendrick and SZA shared the stage kept fans on their toes, and the stage production was definitely on point, from the way flames and fireworks were used to emphasize Kendrick’s punchlines and adlibs to the props and stunts displayed in SZA’s performance.

While the show was an eclectic mash-up of Hip-Hop, Pop, R&B and Rock music, Hip-Hop was definitely the most prevalent with the way the fans were engaged in the diss tracks against Drake. The moment has already gone viral and hopefully it breaks the stereotype that Toronto music fans are unanimously Drake fans by default. Toronto does have plenty of Drake fans, but it also has plenty of Hip-Hop heads who appreciate dedicated lyricists who focus on the craft, regardless of sales numbers or crossover Pop appeal. The battle between Drake and Kendrick brought the appeal of lyricism back to the mainstream, and regardless of who you side with, or if you’re simply a fan of both, there were two stadiums worth of Toronto fans willing to ride with Kendrick on this one.

The Grand National Tour continues with just two more North American dates in Hershey, PA and Washington, DC before heading out to Europe! Tickets and tour dates can be found here.

Check out this playlist of concert videos from all the times I’ve seen Kendrick Lamar perform live over the years!

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