Although Kendrick Lamar boasts a reputation as a "Boogeyman" in hip-hop, don't let that fool you into thinking he can't be a wholesome presence too. During his Split Milk festival headlining set in Canberra, Australia (home of the Ngunnawal people) on Saturday (December 13), he paused the show to sing happy birthday to a nine-year-old fan named Kalina in attendance, and even gave her a signed pgLang hat dedicated to her.
In a clip caught by Kurrco on Twitter, you can see the fan in the crowd spell out her name for K.Dot. A staff member handed Kalina the hat while she was on an unidentified person's shoulders, presumably a family member. The crowd roared for her as she shed tears, smiled, and put the hat on.
"She was official from the start," the "Grand National" performer expressed. "Now she’s super, super, duper official. Make some noise for Kalina. [...] Now, on three, we gon' sing happy birthday to Kalina. Don't mess this up. The cameras is everywhere. We gon' take this back to America. One, two, three..." Lamar led the crowd's singing and joined in on the song.
Other social media accounts have reported that Kalina is Aboriginal, but this hasn't been confirmed. We will see if folks get to hear her story firsthand one day.
Kendrick Lamar Tour
With these final Split Milk shows, Kendrick Lamar's wrapping up his "Grand National" tour. This massive victory lap after the Drake battle, GNX, big Grammy wins, and his Super Bowl halftime show has been a lot to take in, whether you're a "K.Bot," an "OV-Hoe," or somewhere in the middle. Most recently, Australia opener and TDE colleague ScHoolboy Q joined the Compton lyricist on stage for a special rendition of "Collard Greens."
The tour was wildly successful, but its conclusion leaves many question marks in its wake. Will we have to wait another two to five years for what's next? Will it even be new music? Is the next big thing Kendrick Lamar's movie with the South Park creators?
We'll just have to wait and see. After many special moments, fans experienced something massive.
