Recap & Photos: Kendrick Lamar’s Victory Lap at Outside Lands 2015

We were packed in at the Twin Peaks stage with breathless compression on Saturday’s headlining event at Outside Lands 2015, and as far as the eye could see I was surrounded by K-Dot impersonators, guy and girl alike, rapping every word like they’ve grown up with the flowmaster. Maybe they have, actually – 90% of these kids looked under 20. All the same, maniacal enthusiasm greeted fan-favorites “Swimming Pools (Drank),” the new ”King Kunta,” the California anthem “The Recipe” and A$ap Rocky’s ‘Fuckin’ Problems,” which was perhaps the most wildly received song of the entire festival thus far. 

Kendrick no longer seems to be the humble & hungry young rhymespitter he was when we saw him at Bonnaroo a few years back – but the fire remains, and so does the respect for the game. Prior to show-closer “Alright,” which Lamar played 10 minutes after his officially scheduled end time, he delivered a passionate speech about Dre’s genius. Having just released his incredible Compton album (read our review) – on which Kendrick appears in three songs – the crowd roared with enthusiasm in anticipation of Dre’s arrival. He never showed, but two bars into “Alright” and we entirely forgot about Dre.

Check out a Crave-exclusive gallery of Kendrick’s performance below: 

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