Kendrick Lamar Is Performing Several Dates With Jay Rock and a Full Band (Video)

Over the last few years, Kendrick Lamar has been on the road performing as much as any artist in Hip-Hop. In 2013, alone, the Compton MC did well over 100 tour dates. Generally, K. Dot has toured with a DJ and occasionally a small accompaniment, saving his performances with a full band for special occasions. That’s about to change, however, as Kendrick is preparing for an 8-date tour titled the first annual “Kunta’s Groove Sessions.” On several of those dates, he will be joined by Jay Rock and backed by his ultra-funky band, the Wesley Theory, named after the opening song on his To Pimp A Butterfly album.

Though his productions have often featured lush arrangements concocted by his frequent collaborators like THC, Sounwave and Terrace Martin, the introduction of key players like George Clinton, Flying Lotus and Thundercat on TPAB, injected an even higher level of musicality on the album. The full complexity of those tracks was often best translated with a live band, as was on display in Kendrick’s series opening preformance for the new era of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

Now, he is literally taking the show on the road in what, hopefully, will be the initial stint of what will become a bigger tour. The concerts will commence after Kendrick does a very special performance with the National Symphony Orchestra on October 20, in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center.

Check out the official poster and the tour locations and dates, below.

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10/20 Washington, DC – Kennedy Center
10/22 Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
10/24 Columbus, OH – LC Pavilion
10/25 Chicago, IL – United Center
10/27 Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle *
10/29 Dallas, TX – South Side Music Hall *
11/01 Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre *
11/08 Los Angeles, CA – The Forum
11/10 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater *

* “Kunta’s Groove Sessions” with Jay Rock and the Wesley Theory

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