Lamar’s set is tightly choreographed, involving two troupes of dancers, one all-male, the other all-female, their movements shifting from sinuous to militaristic. It’s also beautifully lit, frequently in stark white light, with the screens behind Lamar flashing up sections of his lyrics in vast fonts: The Blacker the Berry plays out with its angriest line – “You hate me don’t you” – towering over him. A huge Parental Guidance sticker appears during DNA. It’s clearly not the sort of thing built to be disrupted by a surprise appearance from Slim Shady.

The performance is lightly sprinkled with tracks from his recent album, Mr Morale and the Big Steppers – it opens with the frantic rhythm track of United in Grief, the screens at the side of the stage literally shaking with the sound of the bass – but draws more heavily on his back catalogue, in roughly chronological order. A trio of tracks from Good Kid MAAD City – Money Trees; The Art of Peer Pressure; Swimming Pools (Drank), the last with two dancers writhing woozily around Lamar – is followed by the big hitters from To Pimp a Butterfly: King Kunta sounds ferocious, the chorus of Alright as potent as ever. The final section draws on 2017’s DAMN. [The Guardian]

Kendrick Lamar closed out the weekend at the 2022 edition of Glastonbury with a headlining set. Like he is on cover of his fantastic new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, and like he did at his recent Paris Fashion Week performance, he wore a crown of thorns for the set, and during the final song, "Savior," fake blood poured out of it and onto his face and white shirt.

"Godspeed for women’s rights," Kendrick yelled during "Savior," referencing the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade on Friday. "They judge you, they judge Christ!"

Watch video from the set, and see the setlist, below.

Kendrick was also awarded Best Male Hip Hop Artist at Sunday night's BET Awards, which he was up against Drake, Future, J. Cole, Jack Harlow, Kanye West, and Lil Baby for. His North American arena tour begins next month.

SETLIST: KENDRICK LAMAR @ GLASTONBURY, 6/26/2022
United in Grief
m.A.A.d city (Part I)
Money Trees
Backseat Freestyle
The Art of Peer Pressure (Part I)
Swimming Pools (Drank)
Poetic Justice
Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe
N95
Count Me Out
King Kunta
i
Alright
Institutionalized (Part I)
The Blacker the Berry
BLOOD.
DNA.
ELEMENT.
Silent Hill
LOYALTY.
LUST.

Encore:
HUMBLE.
LOVE.
Savior