Kendrick Lamar just opened his "Grand National" stadium tour with SZA and Mustard, which will run through North America through June before moving overseas to Europe in July. Thanks to this first show in Minneapolis on Saturday (April 19), we got a good idea of what to expect from the trek, including some brand new and possibly show-exclusive verses according to HipHopNMore.
Namely, we're talking about the Compton lyricist's new verse over one of his big hits with his cousin and frequent collaborator Baby Keem. To replace Keem's first verse on "family ties," K.Dot spit fresh bars about being scared of God and what Coast he really does it for.
Drake "Not Like Us" Lawsuit
It seemed like a spontaneous and energetic moment to witness, and it certainly wasn't the only surprise of the night. Kendrick Lamar seemed to shade his rival by alluding to the "Drop, drop, drop" motif in the Drake battle before diving into "Not Like Us" towards the end of his set.
Speaking of which, the 6ix God continues his legal pursuit of UMG, alleging defamation due to their release and promotion of the West Coast banger. He recently responded to Universal's dismissive comments about his amended filing, which also cites the Super Bowl and the Grammys as defamatory moments.
"Drake welcomes discovery and has nothing to hide," Drake's attorneys stated in part. "It’s not Drake who should worry; it’s UMG’s current leadership. We look forward to hearing from Lucian Grainge, John Janick, and UMG employees under oath. [...] UMG said, ‘Be careful what you ask for.’ Drake knows exactly what he asked for: the truth and accountability."
Another public moment of shade this weekend was Mustard calling Drizzy out during his Coachella set on Friday (April 18), flipping one of the many quotables on "Not Like Us." "Why you suing like a b***h, ain't you tired?" he asked the crowd.
Nevertheless, it's great to hear bangers like "family ties" get more love even amid these other narratives around Kendrick Lamar which point to other tracks instead. As for his collaborator on the song, Baby Keem's working hard on his next move, and fans can't wait to find out what it is.
