Kendrick Lamar has performed his track ‘Squabble Up’ at TDE’s Christmas show, giving the song its live debut.
The holiday show and toy drive – put on by Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), Lamar’s former label – took place yesterday (December 12) at the Nickerson Gardens Housing Projects in Watts, California.
Though the ‘Humble’ rapper is no longer a part of the label roster, he has become a regular presence at the Christmas shows and appeared at the gig last night. During the event, the Pulitzer Prize-winning artist performed ‘Squabble Up’ live for the first time.
During the performance, Lamar was joined onstage by a bunch of kids as well as his friend, American rapper Ab-Soul. The show marked the first time the ‘Not Like Us’ rapper has performed on stage since his gigantic Pop Out concert which saw him perform his Drake diss track six times.
Kendrick Lamar and Ab-Soul 🫂pic.twitter.com/7AqGJQMo6d
— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) December 13, 2024
tde christmas pic.twitter.com/5bU7czltF4
— omar (@OFromTheCho) December 13, 2024
Kendrick Lamar performing with kids on stage at TDE’s Christmas concert 🔥
“C’mon my youngins!” pic.twitter.com/Pexpcm1zJZ
— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) December 13, 2024
Other acts who performed at the TDE Christmas show included nearly every artist signed to the label including the likes of SiR, Zacari, Jay Rock, Docheii, and SZA – who will be joining Lamar on their joint 2025 ‘Grand National’ North American stadium tour. GloRilla also appeared as a special guest and sang her hit ‘TGIF’ and Lamar’s ‘TV Off’ collaborator Lefty Gunplay also made an appearance.
Lamar recently released his sixth studio album ‘GNX‘. In a glowing five-star review of the LP, NME‘s Kyann-Sian Williams wrote: “Lamar channels what could be interpreted as hate and negativity into a teachable moment, leading you to draw upon the purest emotion known to man: love. In a year that started with so much venom, Kendrick Lamar shares the antidote on ‘GNX’.”
The album earned the Number 12 spot on NME‘s 50 Best Albums Of 2024 list, sharing that “several moments of Lamar’s surprise sixth album already feel iconic, not least his explosive scream of “MUSTAAAAARD!” in ‘TV Off’ (another anthem produced by the ‘Not Like Us’ beatmaker). Lamar’s beef with Drake was a defining musical story of 2024, and he ended the year on his terms with this punchy, precise record.”
The rapper’s track ‘Not Like Us’ landed the Number Two spot on NME‘s 50 Best Songs Of 2024 list, writing that the single “packaged intelligent, intensely researched character assassinations into a fierce, booming DJ Mustard-produced club hit. Though his savage, accusatory wordplay grabbed the headlines, it was Lamar’s dissection of Drake as “coloniser” that truly underlined his pure vitriol.”
It was also recently speculated that the ‘Humble’ rapper may have more new music in the works, according to DJ Hed, a radio DJ and friend of Lamar.
