It’s nearly incontestable that Kendrick Lamar is the greatest living hip-hop artist. He counts seven Grammys among the dozens of major music awards he’s won, was just named best male hip-hop artist at this year’s BET Music Awards in June and has the ringing endorsement of everyone from his peers to his Compton, Calif., musical godfather Dr. Dre. One listen to Lamar’s 2015 masterpiece To Pimp a Butterfly is enough to validate the accolades, but this year’s DAMN. secured his legacy as a visionary recording artist with staying power as well as a groundbreaking music video director.

It should be no surprise if Lamar moves into filmmaking in the future. For now, he’s got too much to say and too many ways to say it before he emphasizes imagery over beats and rhymes. DAMN., which debuted at No. 1 in April, was declared double platinum on July 10 by the Recording Industry Association of America, two days before the Phoenix, Ariz., kick-off of his tour in support of the critically acclaimed album. Lamar is presenting a fairly no-frills show, manning the stage mostly solo with his live band hidden from view and arena-appropriate giant screens giving the back seats a clear view of his every move.

Lamar performed eight songs from DAMN., opening the set (after a video clip of his alter ego Kung Fu Kenny) with an explosive “DNA.” and closing with “HUMBLE.”

Butterfly’s thumping “King Kunta” kicked off a look back at the rich catalog of hits he’s amassed in a relatively short major label career—albeit one with three No. 1 albums. “Swimming Pools (Drank),” “Money Trees,” “m.A.A.d city” and “Alright” were part of the night’s canon of hits, interspersed on occasion with the return of Kung Fu Kenny.

It’s not surprising he went deep into DAMN. for nearly half his set. Every one of its 14 tracks made it onto the Billboard Hot 200, and audiences at Coachella in April reportedly could sing along with most the lyrics within days of the album’s release. Several of those songs were made into imagery-rich videos, the most recent being “ELEMENT.” Directed by Jonas Lindstrom with Lamar and his manager Dave Free, the video is a montage of unflinching slice-of-life scenes that are alternatingly brutal and beautiful. It comes after a stunning performance by Don Cheadle in “DNA.” and a turn for the surreal with “HUMBLE.,” each video an artistic progression from the last.

It’s Lamar’s continuous ascent that makes his career so compelling to watch. He’s been on the rise since age 16, when he first gained a reputation in Compton for his dexterity and dense lyricism. By the end of the 2000s he was underground royalty, and in the past few years A-list rappers from Eminem to Kanye West have expressed profound admiration for his skills. All of his peers, it seems, predict a long career for Kendrick Lamar, with more than a few of his fans already endowing him with the title “Greatest of All Time.”

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