Kendrick’s fire and SZA’s grace struggle to find balance together onstage

The former boasts an (as ever) immaculately conceived and critically lauded sixth album, GNX, alongside the winning hand in an internet-breaking and quite literal rap battle after the success of his Drake aimed diss track, “Not Like Us”. The latter began this year with a feat achieved only by a coveted few, with a number one film at the box office - One of Them Days - and a simultaneous number one album on the Billboard 200, LANA (the engorged deluxe version of 2022’s SOS).

With their longtime partnership also well canonised over ten years and seven tracks together, the elevator pitch of The Grand National Tour makes complete sense. Picture it now: two industry heavyweights on the same label, with a glut of shared material, and fanbases that aren’t worlds apart because of it. Simply all signs were leading to this being the must-see gig of 2025.

In practice, however, whilst both artists undoubtedly deliver stellar performances and bring their own unique energies to London – Lamar’s swaggering nonchalance and bombast bars, SZA’s fairy-like prancing and generational lyricism – the night feels awkwardly sequenced and almost like an uncomfortable game of tag. When the duo are on stage together they soar, but the pacing otherwise undercuts their full solo potential.

Veritably warmed up by Mustard’s opening DJ set, mixing club classics with rap gems to avid moshing, the crowd are chomping at the bit as Lamar’s now staple 1987 Buick rises into view. Delighting fans with funky flows on opening tracks “King Kunta”, and “ELEMENT.”, the roars only grow as the night progresses, with his subsequent acts earning no short of mass hysteria. Throughout it all, Lamar keeps his cool and doesn’t drop a word or break a sweat – a stature that surely only adds to the respect from the crowd.

In the first of their transitions, SZA joins him on stage to transcendent cheers for their most recent collaboration, “30 on 30”, before embarking on her own cult-adored favourites from her debut album, CTRL: “Love Galore”, “Broken Clocks”, and “The Weekend”. Whilst the vocals are stunning and her sinuous flexing around the stage all the more captivating in person, the tempo is a notable down-turn from Lamar’s bolstering spitfire.

Immediately something feels a little off, and the disparity is only exacerbated in subsequent acts as the two continually pop up and off stage like Whack-A-Mole. Just as Lamar is building up palpable momentum in an unbeatable second run of songs that includes “HUMBLE.” and “Alright”, refracting the crowd’s fizzing energy back to them, they seem almost agitated by SZA’s next entry with many returning to their seats or running to refill empty glasses.

Believe me, it’s no slight on SZA at all and she couldn’t have possibly done any more to impress. Empowered by her signature blazé attitude, she delivers a majestic showing and even experiences a real lift in atmosphere with some of her more upbeat tracks, like “Kill Bill”, “Kiss Me More”, and “Rich Baby Daddy”. However, it feels that with this set up she is fighting a losing battle, and wasn't handed the full reins to really shine.

Her larger set-pieces, including a giant animatronic ant she lovingly named Antony and an aerial moment signalling her metamorphosis into a butterfly, fall slightly flat next to Lamar’s literal and verbal all-out pyro display. The on-screen visuals also mark an inconsistency between the two artists, except for a masterful throughline of deposition-esque footage interviewing both stars.

It doesn’t seem unfair to speculate that the crowd, or at least the more vocal half, are there primarily to see Lamar and Lamar only. As a result, SZA’s sets in between are treated less like acts and more like interludes. With north of fifty tracks on the setlist, slower and more contained moments were always going to be needed, but it’s fair to say these line up almost entirely with her time on stage. And whilst an undeniable streaming great, SZA’s artistry generally seems to connect less in the UK than on home soil: you only have to look to the press after 2024’s disappointing Glastonbury set to gauge the consensus among general audiences.

It’s a shame that some fans didn’t seem to carry equal weight for both artists on this dual-pronged tour. After all, it is a celebration of two of rap and R&B’s undeniable figureheads, and if appreciated more wholly it would have allowed everyone to experience needed catharsis: whether moshing to Lamar’s raw and disillusioned pronouncements, or singing along to SZA’s incisive and healing lyrics.

All this being said, the night hit defiant peaks when both artists were on stage together. They delivered a blistering performance of “All The Stars” on podiums that towered above the crowd, backed by the twinkling of phone lights. Moreover, currently rumoured Grammy contenders for the upcoming awards season “luther” and “gloria” saw the show out in riveting style, giving essential closure to the night by showcasing the duo’s synergy. In these moments, The Grand National Tour felt understandable, corporeal, and vital.

Setlist

wacced out murals
squabble up
King Kunta
ELEMENT.
tv off
30 for 30
Love Galore
Broken Clocks
The Weekend
euphoria
hey now
Reincarnated
HUMBLE.
Backseat Freestyle
family ties
m.A.A.d city
Alright
man at the garden
Scorscese Baby Daddy
F2F
Drew Barrymore
Garden (Say It Like Dat)
Kitchen
Blind
Consideration
Low
Doves In The Wind
All The Stars
LOVE.
dodger blue
peekaboo
Like That
DNA.
Good Credit
Count Me Out
Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe
Money Trees
Poetic Justice
I Hate U
Shirt
Kill Bill
Snooze
Open Arms
Nobody Gets Me
Good Days
Rich Baby Daddy
Kiss Me More
N95
tv off
Not Like Us
luther
gloria