Kendrick Lamar brought special guests to the Grammys
On Monday night, Kendrick Lamar took the stage at the 58th annual Grammy Awards.
He marched onto the set, followed by chained men in inmate garb in a thinly-veiled meditation on mass incarceration. The inimitable artist — who nabbed four awards for his work on To Pimp a Butterfly — was later joined by backup dancers, who commanded the stage with traditional African dances in a routine that expertly juxtaposed the enduring legacy of the motherland with the systemic violence that mars the present. Moving against the backdrop of a melancholy sax, Lamar shifted effortlessly from The Blacker The Berry, his gritty Patois-infused reflection on the current racial discourse, Alright, his love letter to the movement, and Untitled 3, a new track ripping on "modern-day slavery." It was less of a performance than an unvarnished assertion that, yes, black lives have and still do matter.
But that's not even the whole story.
For all the acclaim that has been righteously heaped on Lamar, he has never forgotten his Compton, Calif., roots — and the rapper reminded fans of that on Monday when he invited kids from his former high school to join him at the Grammys.
A video shared by Reebok Tuesday shows the Centennial High School students as they receive free shoes and hang out with Lamar just prior to his iconic performance.
“Seeing them out here, it just reminds me of, you know, where you come from," Lamar said. "I can see they got full of energy the same way I have. It’s motivation to, you know, want to do something with themselves. So, the next 10 years from now, hopefully they’ll be further than where I’m at."