Former Rare Staff
Kendrick Lamar kicked off the Grammys with a powerful political performance — and he had a little help from Irish rockers U2 and comedian Dave Chappelle.
Videos by Rare
Lamar performed his song “XXX” from his album “Damn” surrounded by dancers dressed in military uniforms with the American flag waving on a screen behind them.
Should we just go home now? Kendrick Lamar's powerful performance may be the biggest moment of the night. #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/ILJ3FHou9Q
— iHeartRadio (@iHeartRadio) January 29, 2018
Bono and The Edge from U2 then came onto the stage as Lamar began performing “DNA.”
Chappelle then joined the trio on stage and said “Hi. I’m Dave Chappelle. And I just wanted to remind the audience that the only thing more frightening than watching a black man be honest in America is being an honest black man in America. Sorry for the interruption. Please continue.”
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W-O-W! What a grand opening to the 60th #GRAMMYs from @kendricklamar, @u2, and #DaveChappelle
Now sit back and enjoy the show. pic.twitter.com/n7CGNiGYlE
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) January 29, 2018
In the next part of his performance, Lamar rapped with a solo drummer, and later his dancers returned wearing red hoodies. As Lamar rapped, each of the dancers fell to the ground as gunshot sounds played over the performance. A few minutes later, Lamar would take home the Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Performance for his song “Loyalty,” featuring Rihanna.
Watch the entire performance below:
https://twitter.com/DuckworthTDE/status/957779395485323265
