Kendrick Lamar’s “DAMN. Tour” coming to Kansas City

The moment that signaled 25-year-old Top Dawg Entertainment artist Kendrick Lamar's rise from West Coast underground cult hero to mainstream superstar happened on stage at a hometown concert during the summer of 2011.

With Dr. Dre looking down from the balcony seats, Lamar was joined on stage by Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, and Game. Those West Coast icons, gangster rap torchbearers for two decades, crowded around Kendrick Lamar and hugged him and declared him "the new king of the West Coast." The crowd starts chanting, "Kendrick! Kendrick! Kendrick!"

Now, KCMO fans can see Kendrick Lamar live as he brings his The DAMN. Tour to Sprint Center August 16. Lamar’s DAMN. released in April, rolled up critical acclaim and commercial success. In its first week, it had sold 603 album equivalent units.

In addition to Lamar, the show will feature as special guests rappers YG and D.R.A.M.

YG is an American rapper from Compton, California. His debut album, My Krazy Life dropped in 2014. His second album, Still Brazy, dropped in 2016 to critical acclaim.

D.R.A.M. (an acronym for Does. Real. Ass. Music.) is a rapper, singer and songwriter from Virginia. His debut single was Cha Cha. His breakout single Broccoli peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album was Big Baby D.R.A.M., which dropped in 2016.

Lamar followed his 2011 break out with the rap icons, by releasing the album that silenced listeners who doubted that he deserved to be crowned. 2012's good kid, m.A.A.d city, Lamar's major label debut album, is a sprawling masterpiece of technical rapping and structured storytelling that defies and expands the conventions of his genre.

Lamar idolized Tupac Shakur growing up, and by 16, he'd recorded his first mixtape, under the name K. Dot. He'd also signed with Top Dawg Entertainment, now home to other L.A. up-and-comers like ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock. Lamar released a series of mixtapes as K. Dot, receiving cosigns from rappers like Lil Wayne and Game, before dropping the moniker and going by his birth name in 2009.

Lamar’s Kansas City performance will be Wednesday, August 16, 7:30 p.m. at the Sprint Center. Tickets are $37.50 - $97.50, and are available online at www.Sprintcenter.com or www.ticketing.axs.com, by phone at (816) 949-7100 or in person at 1407 Grand Boulevard in Kanas City, MO.

Copyright 2017 The Gayly – July 12, 2017 @ 10:35 a.m.