Kendrick Lamar closed out a two-night run at New York’s MetLife Stadium by highlighting the significance of rap music. Before performing “Money Trees,” his 2012 collaboration with Jay Rock, Kendrick addressed the crowd: “I said please believe this is no pop shit. This some rap shit tonight.”
The Grand National Tour, co-headlined by SZA, has played to sold-out stadiums nationwide and has become a major commercial success. Earlier in the tour, Kendrick set a new record for the highest-grossing concert by a Black male headliner. The April 26 show at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas brought in $11.822 million, surpassing The Weeknd’s 2022 SoFi Stadium performance, which grossed $9.8 million.
Kendrick also broke Eminem’s previous record for the highest-grossing rap concert. The tour’s opening night in Minneapolis earned over $9.1 million from more than 47,000 fans, with an average ticket price of $192.70. That performance marked the first rap concert to break the $9 million barrier.In addition to tour milestones, Kendrick and SZA continue to dominate the charts. Their single “Luther” has spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, tying the record for most weeks at the top for a duet by co-billed solo male and female artists. Their respective albums – GNX and SOS – remain in the Billboard 200’s top five.
