YUP! There is a new camp on top of the hip-hop game and they go by the name of Top Dawg Entertainment!

After kicking off The Championship Tour in Vancouver earlier in May, Kendrick Lamar and the TDE crew made their way into Toronto and onto the Budweiser Stage on Tuesday, June 12. Now I’ll admit, I had a fear that Kendrick Lamar, being so big, was going to outshine and leave his label-mates in his shadow, but I was happy to see that each artist had their time to showcase why they deserve to be not only on the label but on the same stage.

As fans were taking their seats, Lance Skiiiwalker kicked off the show with a very chill vibe which I personally jammed out to as he performed his song, “Lover’s Lane.” His performance grabbed everyone’s attention and this led into the second act of the night, SiR. I won’t lie, I wasn’t familiar with his songs, but after hearing him perform six of them, he’s definitely an artist I’ll be checking out more on my spare time!

 

 

It was now time for Ab-Soul to hit the stage and turn up the energy as the crowd’s anticipation grew for ‘King Kendrick’. He did not disappoint from the second he hit the stage. With everyone beginning to bob and sway to the four songs he performed, everyone was ready for the stage to be handed off to another TDE label-mate.

 

 

Enter Jay Rock. The 33-year-old rapper came out with energy, performing a few older tracks before switching it up and getting into his song off the Black Panther soundtrack, “King’s Dead“. Right when this song hit the speakers, the crowd started bobbing their heads and rapping along to every word. To finish off his set, currently my favourite song, “Win“, off his upcoming album, Redemption which is set to release this Friday, June 15th!

 

 

The energy continued to rise as Schoolboy Q showed Toronto why he is the “Man of the Year“. Performing songs off his debut album, Oxymoron, along with his sophomore album, Blank Face LP.

Q seemed to be in his element as he took time in between songs to make conversation, talking about everything from his early days at TDE, to taking two years off after finishing Blank Face. Before ending his set, he made sure to get the crowd excited as he let everyone know that he currently working on a new project that we should be seeing soon…I may have let out a high-pitched scream at this point!

Now for the main attraction, Mr. Kung-Fu Kenny, Kendrick Lamar! The time had come and I’m going to start off by saying that nobody was disappointed. *Note that the visuals were on another level*

 

 

 

We start off by seeing Kendrick standing in front of a Los Angeles’ sunset as “DNA” begins to play through the speakers. The crowd instantly went wild; the energy was absolutely insane! As we get to the break down midway through “DNA” where the beat switches, the sunset disappears as text comes across the screen reading “PULITZER KENNY” (yeah, Kendrick Lamar is a Pulitzer Prize winner).

 

 

 

K-Dot’s large catalogue was displayed very well as he performed songs off of all 3 of his studio albums, the Black Panther soundtrack, and some features that he has been apart of in the past year. He even brought Jay Rock back out to help him perform “King’s Dead” and “Money Trees!” Kendrick ended the evening with two high energy performances of “Alright” and “Humble” which was fun as he stopped the song and let the crowd rap the second verse of the highly energetic track.

 

 

From beginning to end the crowd was locked in as greatest rapper alive, Kendrick Lamar, and the TDE crew showed the 6ix why they are considered to be on top of the hip-hop game…but that’s what you expected right?

 

Here is the TDE: The Championship Tour Setlist in FULL:

Lance Skiiiwalker:

Lover’s Lane

SiR:

Something New

The Canvas

W$ Boi

Don’t Call My Phone

War

D’Evils

Ab-Soul:

Terrorist Threats

Huey Knew THEN

Bloody Waters

Jay Rock:

Vice City

Hood Gone Love It

King’s Dead

Win

Schoolboy Q:

That Part

What They Want

Studio

Dope Dealer

Collard Greens

Hell of a Night

Break the Bank

Man of the Year

Kendrick Lamar:

DNA

ELEMENT

Big Shot

King Kunta

Untitled 07 | 2014-2016

goosebumps

New Freezer

Swimming Pools

Backstreet Freestyle

LOYALTY.

Money Trees

King’s Dead

XXX.

m.A.A.d City

LOVE.

Bi*ch, Don’t Kill My Vibe

Alright

HUMBLE

After checking out the Kendrick show, the KiSS Crew spoiled fans with some post show refreshments and munchies!

Going to a concert this summer?  Keep an eye out for the KiSS Crew after the show and they’ll hook you up too!

We’ll be passing out Eska Water, Sun-Rype Good Bites and Kisko Freezies all summer long!

Summer Lives on KiSS 92.5, driven by Mitsubishi!

Filed under: Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, SZA, TDE, The Championship Tour