Kendrick Lamar shows how he became Pulitzer Kenny with Top Dawg Championship Tour in Phoenix

Kendrick Lamar and his Top Dawg Entertainment crew drew a huge crowd to Ak-Chin Pavilion Monday night for TDE: The Championship Tour, a hip-hop reboot of the classic Motortown Revue, a traveling showcase for the Motown roster in the '60s.

Lance Skiiiwalker, SiR, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock

Lance Skiiiwalker opened the show with a one-song performance, followed by whirlwind sets from SiR, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock, each performer's set designed to represent a different sport, complete with their own trading cards.

SiR, who was rocking a TDE baseball jersey and batting gloves, sang his first song while holding a baseball bat and fielding glove. Ab-Soul performed between two archery targets with a bow and arrows strapped across his back.

And Jay Rock had a basketball hoop and a dog mascot, who set off fireworks when he dunked at the end of a five-minute set that concluded with "King's Dead," Rock's "Black Panther" single that features Lamar.

ScHoolboy Q

The PA blasted "We Are the Champions" by Queen to announce the arrival of ScHoolboy Q, who rolled out on a golf cart and played the first and only normal-length opening set of the night.

He opened with "That Part," accompanied by a live band that played in the wings, and treated fans to such obvious highlights as "What They Want," "Collard Greens" and "John Muir" before bringing the set to a raucous conclusion with "Man of the Year."

He also brought SiR back on stage to revisit their collabo "Something Foreign" and gave a heartfelt speech about the tour.

A feeling of community and brotherhood

"When I first joined this label that I'm on now and that I'm gonna die on, which is Top Dawg Entertainment TDE, the only artists was me, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and my brother Kendrick Lamar," he said.

"We cried together. We slaved together. We dreamed together. And now we on this motherf--king stage right now in Arizona together for y'all motherf--kers."

And you could definitely feel that sense of community when the labelmates crowded the stage at the end of Lamar's performance to join him in bringing the night to a triumphant close with "HUMBLE."

SZA didn't perform

ScHoolboy Q's set was supposed to be followed by SZA, but according to the signs promoters hung outside the venue, "Due to unforeseen circumstances SZA will not be performing tonight."

That briefly killed my vibe.

Pulitzer Kenny takes a victory lap

For as much as the Championship Tour has been designed to celebrate the label as a whole, it's also a bit of a victory lap for the shiniest star in the TDE universe – Pulitzer Kenny, as the sign behind him declared in the midst of his opening number, "DNA."

"DAMN"

Despite the Grammys somehow thinking Bruno Mars had made a better album, "DAMN." was last year's most acclaimed release – and deservedly so – resulting in a truly unexpected triumph when it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music in April.

You could say no hip-hop album had ever won that honor, which is true, but it's an understatement. This is also the first time an album that isn't jazz or classical has won that honor.

"HUMBLE"

And he managed to go double-platinum in the process, complete with a chart-topping single in "HUMBLE.," a song Lamar turned over to the audience to rap as he stood there grinning, looking truly humbled.

It was a powerful moment that spoke to Lamar's ascendance to the forefront of not only hip-hop culture but also American culture at large. And he's done it with music that speaks to what that culture is.

As the Pulitzer board could tell you, "DAMN." is “a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.”

In a culture where "This is America," Childish Gambino's recent contribution to that very necessary conversation, can become a water cooler moment, art that strives to capture the complexity of modern life has emerged as a powerful cultural force.

Art that asks you to think has gone mainstream again

And Lamar has clearly played a huge role in that process, having delivered on the promise of his debut, "Section.80," and "Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City" with the masterful "To Pimp a Butterfly" in 2015 and now, "DAMN."

There were no songs from "Section.80" in Monday's performance.

But it did serve as an overview of what he's done since then, including "untitled 07 | 2014-2016" from "Untitled Unmastered" (an album of demos from "To Pimp a Butterfly") and a handful of his featured spots on other people's singles.

After setting the tone with "DNA." and "ELEMENT.," he reached back for such hard-hitting highlights as "King Kunta," "Swimming Pools (Drank)," "Backseat Freestyle," "Money Trees," "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" and "Alright."

And he was gracious with the spotlight. ScHoolboy Q came out for "X." Jay Rock returned for one more pass at "King's Dead" and Zacari came out for "LOVE."

The end result was a breathtaking snapshot of one of America's most exciting voices weighing in on a world gone increasingly mad while holding out the hope that "We gon' be alright," a notion that inspired one of Monday's most impassioned singalongs.

Kendrick Lamar setlist

DNA.

ELEMENT.

Big Shot

King Kunta

untitled 07 | 2014-2016

goosebumps

New Freezer

Swimming Pools (Drank)

Backseat Freestyle

LOYALTY.

Money Trees

XXX.

m.A.A.d. city

LOVE.

Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe

Alright

X

HUMBLE.

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