King Kendrick kicked off the 60th Annual Grammy Awards with a bang.
Walking into Music’s Biggest Night with seven nominations, Kendrick Lamar set off Sunday’s show with a politically-charged performance featuring U2 and Dave Chappelle. Host James Corden called it, “without question, the most unique and bold opening you could ever imagine, I think, in Grammy history.”
Backed by U.S. flags on large screens behind him, the Top Dawg Entertainment MC lit up Madison Square Garden with a mash-up medley of “XXX.,” “LUST.,” and “DNA.,” with Bono, The Edge, and a group of masked soldiers around him. Supported by Dave Chappelle for brief cameos in between explosive bursts of energy, K-Dot ran through smash-after-smash, including portions of “New Freezer,” “King’s Dead,” and “All the Stars.”
Kung Fu Kenny is already a four-time Grammy winner so far tonight, taking home Best Music Video (“HUMBLE.”), Best Rap Song (“HUMBLE.”), Best Rap Performance (“HUMBLE.”), and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (“LOYALTY.”), which he accepted onstage with Rihanna.
And his big night continues. His work on DAMN. earned him a total of seven Grammy nominations this year, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year (“HUMBLE.”).