The first time Kendrick Lamar played Governors Ball, he was a rising star. He played a daytime set at GovBall 2013, just months after his breakthrough album good kid, m.A.A.d city came out, and even at that relatively early point in his career, he put on one of the best and most memorable sets we saw that whole weekend. Ten years later, he returned to close out the 2023 edition of Governors Ball with a headlining set on Sunday night–the only headliner who performed unopposed. It was a powerful way to mark the 10th anniversary of his GovBall debut, and a reminder that Kendrick has become an established vet while remaining a hungry artist who’s still growing.
The GovBall set was Kendrick’s first time playing NYC since The Big Steppers Tour hit the area for three arena shows last summer, and that show was as much a rap concert as it was performance art, with intense choreography, props, theatrics, and a storyline that made for Kendrick’s most ambitious tour yet. As thrilling as that tour was, it’s also still a treat just to watch Kendrick rap his ass off like he did in the early days, without any bells and whistles, and that’s exactly what he did at GovBall 2023.
Earlier this year, Kendrick said during his Grammys acceptance speech for Best Rap Album that all he ever wanted was to be the biggest underground artist of all time, and his performance at Governors Ball completely backed up that sentiment. He had a few cool stage backdrops, and some dancers came out later on in the show, but for the most part, he eschewed the elaborate stage setup that we’ve come to expect from festival headliners, and he was completely fine without it. He got up there with just a mic, and won over the massive crowd off the strength of his rapping and his great songs alone. In the zeitgeist of 2023, there aren’t many rappers outside of the underground who put emphasis on honing a traditional rap skillset the way Kendrick does, and at the risk of sounding like Old Man Yells At Cloud, he outperforms most current mainstream rappers because of it. Even when Kendrick and the rest of the “1 Train” generation first made their mark, they threatened to shake up a stale rap mainstream that initially rejected their mix of classicism and innovation, and many of those rappers–like Kendrick–went on to infiltrate popular music and rise to stardom themselves. As Kendrick’s popularity rose, his music grew even more at odds with what you’re most likely to hear on rap radio, and it feels like we’re back in a place where Kendrick Lamar is effectively outsider music, despite his ability to headline festivals all summer. So getting back to his roots and putting on a display of nothing but purely great rapping feels like a very fitting thing for him to do on this festival run; in its own way, it’s just as show-stopping as his elaborate Big Steppers Tour.
Because he is still supporting Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers, his set leaned more heavily on that album than any of his others, but it largely felt like a career-spanning greatest hits set, with almost every era of his career getting the attention it deserves. He walked out to Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You”–the song he samples on Mr. Morale bonus track “The Heart Part 5”–and then opened up with the new album’s biggest single, “N95.” From there, he quickly mixed things up, inciting singalongs with favorites from DAMN., To Pimp A Butterfly, good kid, m.A.A.d city, and Section.80 one minute and stunning the crowd by powering through “Worldwide Steppers” without missing a beat the next. Kendrick’s albums are all so distinctly different from one another, but in a live setting, he has no trouble putting together a setlist that ties everything together. His set was most focused on the hits, but we got some deeper cuts too, like his verse from Pusha T’s “Nosetalgia.” (Pusha T also performed at the fest just a few hours earlier, but no guest appearance.) The set was a reminder that all phases of Kendrick’s career continue to endure; the good kid, m.A.A.d city songs sounded as fresh as ever and the Mr. Morale songs already feel like classics. After leading the crowd in an a cappella singalong of early hit “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe,” he gave a shoutout to his really early days, when he came to NYC for a rite-of-passage show at SOB’s. Just a few songs later, he celebrated a more recent endeavor by bringing out his cousin and protégé Baby Keem for their instant-classic collab “Family Ties.” Every song and every move just kept reminding you that Kendrick’s been at the top of his game every step of the way.
Kendrick’s penultimate song was his world-conquering anthem “Alright,” and then he ended things the same way he ended The Big Steppers Tour, with the pensive “Savior.” Kendrick said “I’ll be back,” and then fireworks erupted, lighting up the World’s Fair structures that were directly behind GovBall’s main stage at its gorgeous new home of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was a great way to close out the festival, a perfect ending to what felt like a milestone moment for both Kendrick and GovBall itself.
More pictures by Amanda Hatfield and some fan-shot videos below…
