Kendrick Lamar, U2 and David Chapelle might seem like an unlikely team, but they joined forces on Sunday night (28 January) to kick off the Grammy Awards with a politically charged performance.
The rapper - who was among the most nominated artist at this year’s Grammys, with seven nods - opened the show with a performance showcasing several songs from his recent critically acclaimed album, ‘DAMN’.
Opening on a scene of soldiers marching in front of the American flag, Kendrick took centre stage to perform his song ‘XXX’, before the screens behind him suddenly showed the message: “This is a satire by Kendrick Lamar.”
At this point, accompanied by the sound of a gunshot, the camera panned to controversial stand-up Dave Chappelle, who introduced himself before stating: “I just wanted to remind the audience that the only thing more frightening than watching a black man be honest in America is being an honest black man in America.
“Sorry for the interruption.”
The camera then returned to Kendrick, which is when he took things up a notch, delivering the rest of his rap in the frenetic and visceral style fans have grown used to in recent years, culminating in his team of dancers falling to the floor one by one, with each drop accompanied by a gunshot sound effect.
Among Kendrick’s seven nominations were two of the biggest nods of the night, with ‘Humble’ up for Record Of The Year and ‘DAMN.’ being nominated for Album Of The Year.
Kendrick’s appearance at this year’s Grammys marked his second stand-out performance at the awards show, having previously stolen the show when he took to the stage in 2016.
He gave a similarly show-stopping appearance at the VMAs over the summer, where he was also the biggest winner of the night.
Check out more some of our favourite Grammys performances from over the years below...