Kendrick Lamar responds to security guard crying at his show: “That’s how you want everyone to receive your music”

Kendrick Lamar has responded to footage of a security guard being brought to tears during one of his recent performances.

In a clip that was shared on TikTok and has since gone viral, the security guard can be seen wiping tears away while Lamar performs his ‘DAMN.’ cut ‘Love’ at a show in Houston, Texas. The guard can then be seen rapping along to the lyric, “I’m like an exit away.

During a local TV interview, the guard, whose name is Devyn Sanford, later explained what he went through. “I woke up the next day and it was everywhere,” Sanford said. “I’m still taking it all in right now. […] I debated about whether to buy tickets or work the show and I decided to work it and it was still just as impactful to me.”

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“It brought me back to when the song first came out. I was going through a tumultuous time in my life at that point,” Sanford continued. “The words, the crowd around me, everyone was screaming and reaching for Kendrick and crying and I kind of like absorbed everybody’s emotions. I was trying my best to hold it together and I just cracked.”

Watch the original viral footage below:

@dejaihvu

Mans shoulda just bought a ticket ?? #kendricklamar #thebigstepperstour #houstontx

♬ original sound – Dejaih Smith

Following his Rolling Loud performance, Lamar was asked about the video by “kid reporter” Jazlyn “Jazzy” Guerra (per Stereogum). “It’s really just about the feeling of it. At the end of the day, past all the politics, past all the numbers, it’s what music makes you feel, you know, how it makes you feel,” Lamar said.

“To see that – and shoutout to him, by the way, because I see you bro – I was like, ‘man, I wonder what he’s going through,’” he continued. “At the end of the day that’s how you want everyone to receive your music, you know, make them feel good, make them feel like a moment they’re attached to can live forever.”

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A post shared by Jazlyn aka Jazzy ???? (@jazzysworldtv)

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Last week, Lamar kicked off his ‘Big Steppers’ world tour in Oklahoma, performing seven tracks from the new album – including ‘Father Time’, ‘Auntie Diaries’ and ‘Die Hard’ – live for the first time.

Lamar’s massive world tour will continue throughout North America until mid-September, before heading to Europe and the UK the following month. It’ll wrap up with an Australian and New Zealand run in December.