Catch Kendrick Lamar’s Live Debut of “Squabble Up” at the TDE Christmas Show!

Kendrick Lamar’s Live Debut

Kendrick Lamar performed his track “Squabble Up” at the TDE Christmas show, making his live debut.

• READ MORE: Kendrick Lamar – 'GNX' Review: Turning Hate into a Teachable Moment

The holiday show and toy drive, produced by Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), Lamar's former label, took place yesterday (December 12) at the Nickerson Gardens Housing Projects in Watts, California.

Reconnecting with the Community

Although the “Humble” rapper is no longer part of the label's roster, he has become a regular at Christmas shows and appeared at the concert last night. During the event, the Pulitzer Prize-winning artist performed “Squabble Up” live for the first time.

During the performance, Lamar was joined on stage by a group of children, as well as his friend, American rapper Ab-Soul. The show marked the first time the Not Like Us rapper performed on stage since his mammoth Pop Out concert, where he performed his Drake diss track six times.

Kendrick Lamar and Ab-Soul 🫂pic.twitter.com/7AqGJQMo6d

— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) December 13, 2024

Christmas pic.twitter.com/5bU7czltF4

— Omar (@OFromTheCho) December 13, 2024

Kendrick Lamar performs with children on stage at the TDE Christmas concert 🔥

“Come on, my cubs!” pic.twitter.com/Pexpcm1zJZ

— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) December 13, 2024

Upcoming Collaborations and Achievements

Other acts performing at TDE's Christmas show included nearly every artist signed to the label, including SiR, Zacari, Jay Rock, Docheii, and SZA, who will join Lamar on their joint Grand National tour across North America in 2025. GloRilla also made a special guest appearance and performed her hit “TGIF,” and Lamar's “TV Off” collaborator Lefty Gunplay also appeared.

Lamar recently released his sixth studio album, GNX. In a glowing five-star review of the record, NME magazine’s Kiann-Sian Williams wrote, “Lamar channels what can be interpreted as hate and negativity into a teachable moment, encouraging you to tap into the purest emotion known to man: love.” In a year that started with such rancor, Kendrick Lamar shares the antidote to “GNX.”

The album took 12th place in NME on the “50 Best Albums of 2024” list, which states that “some aspects of Lamar's surprise sixth album already feel iconic, not least its explosive scream MUSTAAAARD!” in “TV Off” (another anthem produced by the “Not Like Us” beatmaker). Lamar's beef with Drake became the defining music story of 2024, and he ended the year on his own terms with this energetic and precise record.”

The rapper's track “Not Like Us” took second place in NME on the list of the 50 Best Songs of 2024, stating that the single “translates intelligent, meticulously researched character assassinations into a furious, up-tempo club hit produced by DJ Mustard.” While his savage, accusatory wordplay made headlines, it was Lamar's analysis of Drake as a “colonizer” that really highlighted his pure causticism.

According to DJ Hed, a radio DJ and friend of Lamar, it was recently suggested that the Humble rapper might be making even more new music.