BrightestYoungThings: LiveDC: Kendrick Lamar @ 930 Club

all words: Steven Place
all photos: Shannon Yazurlo

He did it!

Kendrick Lamar sold out the 9:30 Club and put on one of the best shows of the summer.

When he took stage, the crowd was looking a little tired (it was a long night!) but right when Kendrick started his set, everyone went nuts. Even over the course of a 70 minute set, Kendrick has this rare quality that demands your attention―making you not want to miss anything he says or does.

The deep bench of talent that backed him up was just as impressive. Ashton Travis and Phil da Phuture were fantastic. I can't wait to see what these guys do down the road. Schoolboy Q was fun as hell, playing crowd favorites like "Bet I Got Som Weed" and at one point jumping into the crowd during "Fucked Up."

Draped in a white towel, Phil Adé' ran on stage and opened with his ominous but hard hitting freestyle "Nightmares," looking like DC's uncrowned king eager to protect his thrown.

Determined to leave no survivors, Adé' kept up the pressure with gems like "Spazzin" and "Second Chance," and even dropped "OMG" (a song so awesome it's only on Myspace?!1)―at which point all women in a 15 ft radius lost consciousness and the wall of alien-faced college kids hanging over the barrier stopped tweeting.

I can't wait to see what other event's DCtoBC and the Great Progression have up their sleeve.