Kendrick Lamar lights up Bonnaroo

Everyone loves Kendrick Lamar — from the toughest customers in Compton to the crunchiest fans at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. With a hard-as-nails flow and a socially conscious message, the rising star has proven he fits in anywhere. Crowned the next big thing by Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg, he also moves comfortably in the tie-dyed world he encountered on Thursday on his first visit to the festival. “I think it just comes from me being myself and not being scared of being myself,” Lamar said of his universal appeal. “When I talk about certain things, it’s something that I want to do and want to talk about. So when I talk about the streets or about the system or about life in general, people feel it because they know it’s organic, you know?” Lamar’s highly anticipated set capped what amounted to a new face of rap segment at Bonnaroo. Detroit’s Danny Brown started the run, followed by Alabama’s Yelawolf, who paid tribute to The Beastie Boys’ Adam "MCA" Yauch, who died of cancer last month, with a medley of hits, including Brass Monkey and (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party). Brown returned to the stage to join Lamar for an encore at the end of the night.That run of some of hip-hop’s most hyped newcomers fit with Lamar’s message of acceptance, one he’s been spreading since the start and perfected with his last album, Section.80. “It definitely is a goal to have as many people listen to the music as possible, not just those in my own backyard, because I’m from Compton,” Lamar said. “I want to have people in Amsterdam relate to where I come from. I want the world to be listening to this music, because I feel like it’s the best music has to offer in the business. When I say ’(expletive) your ethnicity’ in the intro to Section.80, I really mean that. I don’t care where you from, your creed or your colour, you’re going to enjoy this music and you’re going to relate to it.”That was the case at Bonnaroo, where the crowd finished Lamar’s verses on most songs. A musky smoke cloud billowed into the air as he performed his latest single, The Recipe, and ode to the best things about Los Angeles that features Dr Dre. With Lamar’s set out of the way, he can now return his attention to his much-discussed new album, Good Kid in a Mad City. He doesn’t have a release date yet, but said he’s been staying tight with his Black Hippy collective of friends despite his move to a major label.And perhaps someday soon, we’ll get to hear his contributions to Dre’s long-anticipated Detox. Lamar spent nine days with his idol, something he spent much of his life day-dreaming about. “Ah, man, crazy,” Lamar said. “I’m a firm believer that when you throw something in the universe, it comes back full circle, depending on how much you think about it. I used to always think about these legends in the game, so when it finally hit to reality, I can always just imagine all them times I said I want to be among the elite and be acknowledged by the elite. Because once they acknowledge you, you know for sure they like you.”from gulf news.