For Kendrick Lamar, 2025 is shaping up to be a busy year — and a newly announced tour with SZA is his latest commitment.
The “All the Stars” collaborators who recently reunited for Lamar’s new album “GNX” unveiled their Grand National tour Tuesday. The “Luther” duo’s tour debuts with an April 19 show in Minneapolis and will include two stops in Lamar’s native L.A., and a show in SZA’s hometown of St. Louis.
Lamar and SZA will play two shows at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium May 21 and 23. They will also perform at San Francisco’s Oracle Park on May 29 and will play St. Louis’ Dome at America’s Center on June 4 on the 19-stop road show.
Lamar’s return to Inglewood will be another victory lap in the wake of his rap feud with Drake this year. The “Humble” artist will play SoFi Stadium a year after releasing “Not Like Us,” the scathing diss track that prompted fans to declare Lamar the winner of their sonic squabble.
Earlier this year, Lamar also hosted his Juneteenth “Pop Out” celebration at Inglewood’s Kia Forum, where he played “Not Like Us” six times.
The Pulitzer Prize winner told SZA in an October interview that the Grammy-nominated song, produced by DJ Mustard, is “the energy of who I am, the type of man I represent.” “Not Like Us” represents a man who has morals, Lamar said.
“He has values, he believes in something, he stands on something. He’s not pandering,” he said. “He’s a man who can recognize his mistakes and not be afraid to share the mistakes and can dig deep down into fear-based ideologies or experiences to be able to express them without feeling like he’s less of a man.”
“Not Like Us” might not be on Lamar’s latest album, but its 12 tracks make it “pretty hard to dispute his claim to be the best rapper alive,” The Times’ August Brown wrote upon “GNX’s” surprise release late last month.
SZA, who concluded her “SOS” album tour in May, lends her voice to multiple songs on “GNX.” In “Luther” she harmonizes with Lamar about selfless love and, in the album’s closing track “Gloria,” she adds moving vocals to the rapper’s ode to writing.
In addition to SZA, Lamar’s “GNX” also features Mariachi singer Deyra Barrera and a number of L.A. up-and-comers including Dody6, Lefty Gunplay, Wallie the Sensei and AzChike.
“Indignation remains a valuable motivator of Lamar’s art,” The Times’ critic Mikael Wood wrote, “his writing and rapping on ‘GNX’ are as razor-sharp as they were in the brutal diss tracks he released one after another, Drake barely getting a second to breathe between them, this past spring.”
Days after “GNX” dropped, Drake struck back with a pair of legal filings that accused their shared record label, Universal Music Group, of promoting “Not Like Us” more than his work and alluding to a potential defamation claim.
Before the Grand National tour, Lamar will return to the Super Bowl stage in February — this time as a solo act. In 2022, he performed alongside Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak. Super Bowl LIX will take place Feb. 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans and will air on Fox.
Lamar and SZA’s Grand National tour will conclude June 18 at Washington D.C.’s Northwest Stadium. The ticket pre-sale begins Wednesday at 10 a.m. local time and general sale begins Friday at 10 a.m. local time. The full list of dates is available on the tour’s website.
