BET Music Matters Tour @ The TLA, with Kendrick Lamar and More.

Text by Niesha Miller. Images by Tiesha Miller.

Before 7 p.m. hit last week, a line formed down the block from the Theater of Living Arts on South Street. Many people stood between 3rd and 4th streets with printed ticket stubs in their hand, waiting to be let in to the venue so they can get first dibs on the front row area in the standing room venue.

Crowd-pleaser hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar (above) headlined the show for BET’s 2012 “Music Matters” tour.  Before he took the stage, a crowd of more than 800 people chanted his name from the floor and balcony overlooking the barely lit venue.

The Cali native approached the stage.

“It feels good to be back in Philly,” Lamar shouted to the crowd. “It feels like home.”

The crowd pushed, pulled and sung along as he performed a bunch of gems from his 2011 independent album Section.80 including “The Spiteful Chant” featuring Schoolboy Q (right) , “HiiiPower,” and “Fuck Your Ethnicity.” There were struggles as people attempted to shove their way closer to the Black Hippy. At one point he pulled a chair on stage, leaned towards the crowd to engage his devoted followers.

“Next time I’m in Philadelphia,” Lamar said, “I’m a let you know the reason I act the way I act.”

Seconds later the beat dropped for “A.D.H.D.” The crowd gasped and exchanged nostalgic looks and placed their lighters and cell phones in the air and moved them from side to side.

He periodically stopped in the middle of a few songs, shouting that Philly wasn’t live enough for him. The crowd would yell and laugh in protest, but the party would start up again.

In between sets, fans shouted their favorite song at the performer. Eventually he told the crowd to tweet him the song they wanted to hear next. He checked his phone, shot the crowd a smile and got back at it.

Later he ended his set with “Swimming Pools,” from his much anticipated major debut  album good kid, m.A.A.d city set to be released October 22nd.

He left the stage, where the crowd immediately demanded an encore, chanting his first name.

Before Lamar tore the stage apart, the show was opened with performances by his fellow Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) members Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and Schoolboy Q, along with guest Stalley for the Mayback Music Group.

Stalley

Ab-Soul

Jay Rock