Last week, on May 8 & 9, two of hip-hop’s biggest artists, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, stopped at MetLife Stadium as part of their Grand National Tour. The wildly talented duo drew impressive crowds to the Meadowlands on both nights, kicking off a summer of stacked concerts at MetLife Stadium.
Their first show drew a crowd of roughly 51,000 fans. Lamar played songs off of his newest album ‘GNX’, but threw in the classics, as well. SZA also played songs off her new deluxe album ‘Lana’, though played many of the fan favorites. Perhaps one of the biggest moments of Night 1 was her addition of ‘Another Life’ to the setlist. One of the most acclaimed songs on her latest deluxe album, fans expressed their displeasure with it being excluded from the setlist on social media. Their complaints were finally answered on May 8, when she added the song to the setlist, with the Meadowlands being the first audience that got the privilege of hearing it.
The second night, May 9, greeted an even larger crowd, performing in front of a sold-out roughly 57,000 fans. Lamar & SZA pulled out all of the stops for their second show, with several special guests joining them. Despite the lackluster weather, they didn’t let that stop them from bringing the energy to the Meadowlands.
During his performance of ‘Family Ties’, Lamar brought out his cousin Baby Keem, who’s featured on the song to perform with him. The surprise appearance marks the end of a drought for Keem, who hadn’t made an appearance at a concert in almost a year. In fact, that was his second appearance since the start of 2024.
SZA also brought the star power to MetLife, bringing out renowned DJ Kaytranada to perform his hit remix of ‘Be Your Girl’. The catchy beats and SZA’s vocals provided a rendition of the song that you could only experience if you were at the venue.
Prior to both of the shows, SZA’s beauty company, NOT beauty, also held a pop up shop inside the American Dream mall. The pop up featured a collection of lip care products, an appearance from SZA and even Kendrick Lamar.
The concert showed yet again the power that MetLife Stadium holds, with some of music’s biggest stars making appearances.