Kendrick Lamar's Top 5 Televised Performances

What makes Kendrick Lamar such a great performer? His everyman aesthetic makes him relatable. His spiritual conviction that makes him appear possessed gives his performances the feeling of a religious ritual. His live band is fuego. And, bars.

To celebrate Kendrick Lamar single-handedly rescuing the 58th Grammys (from itself), we sifted through his history of performing on television to find his best moments. See our honorable mentions below and click the galleries to watch Kendrick Lamar's five best televised performances.

Honorable Mention

The hip hop world is still reeling from Kendrick Lamar's verse on "Control," which dropped in August 2013. No one knew he had a cutthroat killer instinct like that.

In case people thought "Control" was a fluke, Kendrick brought out the long knives once more two months later during the TDE cypher at the BET Hip Hop Awards. According to Schoolboy Q, Kendrick wasn't even going to participate originally: "Outta nowhere, me, Soul and Rock, he pulled us to the side and was like check this shit out, and he rapped it," Q said. "And we was like, [shocked face]."

It didn't hurt that Kendrick was rapping over the "Shook Ones II" beat. "Yeah, and nothing's been the same since they dropped 'Control'/ And tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes."

The most memorable part of the 2014 NBA All-Star Weekend, held at New Orleans' famed Smoothie King Center, was Kendrick Lamar's performance during the Saturday night festivities. Rocking the Red October Yeezys, he lit up the Smoothie King Center with "M.A.A.D. City" and then stirred the crowd with a sultry rendition of "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe."

The contrast between songs makes this a perfect two-song set. First, Kendrick and his band channel their inner Metallica to elevate the gang warfare anthem "M.A.A.D. City" to new heights, then hop in the convertible and ride out of Compton with, "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe," cruising through the fresh summer air towards the Californian sunset. Mama, we made it.

Kendrick Lamar did not waste his opportunity to perform as the last ever musical guest on The Colbert Report. "Untitled" foreshadowed the Afro-centric themes of TPAB, with its affirmation of blackness rendered so that the stressed syllables match up perfectly with the beat: "I shall en-JOY the FRUITS of my LA-bor IF I get FREED to-DAY."

Part of what makes this performance so special is that is is literally the only time "Untitled" was recorded. "It don't even exist nowhere in the world," said Martin, "except on the Colbert Report."

The performance begins at the 4:05 mark below. 

Kendrick - "untitled" [Colbert Report Live... by TheKoalition

Kendrick's dreads were but baby sprouts when he performed "Untitled" on "The Colbert Report." By the time he performed "Untitled 2" on "The Tonight Show" 13 months later, they had matured into full-blown cornrows. Cornrow Kenny's ratty flannel, worn over a hoodie, telegraphed to the audience that his bars would be more than enough to hold their attention.

Kendrick commences his transformation into Super Saiyan Mode around the 3:30 mark. He had just received 11 Grammys a few weeks prior to this show, but his chant of  "You ain't gotta tell me that I'm one" foresaw his eventual loss to Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran -- he didn't need the industry to validate him.

The 58th Grammys had been a massive bust up to the point when Kendrick Lamar marched out in shackles. He proceeded to set the Staples Center with a three-part Odyssey, first "Blacker the Berry," then "Alright," and finally "Untitled 3" -- a variation on "Alright" that started with a reflection on the Trayvon Martin killing and ended, like the first two "Untitled" tracks, with a chant of increasing intensity asserting that he would ultimately prevail against the powers that be.

Before the Grammys, Kendrick told 2DBZ that he was sitting on a "chamber of unreleased music." "You see all these performances on these late night shows, I got a chamber of material from the album that I was in love where sample clearances or something as simple as a deadline kept it off the album," he explained. "But I think probably close to ten songs that I’m in love with that I’ll still play and still perform that didn’t make the cut."

Black liberation is the theme that runs through the "Untitled" trilogy. Black liberation by way of black excellence, in the form of Kendrick Lamar, a generational talent, at the height of his powers.