Kendrick Lamar

A year ago Kendrick Lamar drew a decent crowd during his Thursday night set at This Tent and ran through tracks from the buzzed-about Section.80. Fast-forward a year and the Compton rapper is still riding high from releasing one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums of last year. good kid, m.A.A.d city took prominence in his hour-long set at Bonnaroo's main stage, with Lamar making his way out to "The Art of Peer Pressure," then sending the giant crowd into a frenzy with "Backseat Freestyle." His verses from A$AP Rocky's "Fuckin' Problems" and Young Jeezy's "R.I.P." made their way into the set list, while hits "Poetic Justice" and "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" provided back-to-back highlights around the halfway point of the show. Lamar was in fine form, delivering rapid-fire rhymes perfectly on point and proving that the talent extends well beyond the studio. He managed to fill the gigantic stage, despite only being backed by his DJ booth, constantly bouncing from one side to the other and pitting the two halves of the crowd against each other for sing-along moments. Towards the end of the set, Section.80 gem "A.D.H.D." was busted out, followed by "m.A.A.d city," but it was the finale of "Swimming Pools (Drank)" that stole the show. As thousands screamed the chorus back at him, it was easy to see just what a huge year the young MC has had.