Kendrick Lamar, Janelle Monáe, Megan Thee Stallion Light Up Outside Lands

This story has been updated. It was first published on Aug. 12, 2023. 

It turns out Kendrick Lamar only needs a microphone to show why he’s a titan of rap.

At Outside Lands Friday night, Lamar took the stage bathed in blue light and immediately got down to business, delivering a crisp, refined set that underscored his stature as a poet. Even as the crowd, tens of thousands of fans deep, went wild for hits like “Swimming Pools” off 2012’s good kid, m.A.A.D. city and “DNA” from 2017’s DAMN., Lamar’s minimalist stage setup underscored the emotional depth of his words: ancestral curses, internal conflicts, specters of trauma that linger even in moments of triumph.

His group of male dancers, dressed in eerily identical outfits, moved in unison, following Lamar around the stage like the physical embodiment of his embattled subconscious. Meanwhile, paintings by Henry Taylor hung as backdrops, its subjects making uncomfortably direct eye contact with the crowd. Even as the audience happily sang out “what’s the yams?” during “King Kunta” or jumped and chanted “Ya! Ya! Ya!” during “m.A.A.d. City,” Lamar never let the audience float into escapism for too long.

Though his set fell on the 50th anniversary of hip-hop culture, he didn’t stop to acknowledge the occasion, and didn’t bring out surprise guests. But he didn’t need to — this night was about his power of bringing together the collective through excavations of his most intimate pain. —Nastia Voynovskaya

More Outside Lands highlights

Megan Thee Stallion

At Outside Lands Sunday, the hotties were at the ready, chanting “Megan! Megan!” and clutching their friends in anticipation. Then, to the chorus of “Her,” she appeared with a cascade of waist-length red hair framing her silhouette and prepared to set the mic ablaze.

Megan Thee Stallion’s set was pure energy. She rapped sex-positive anthems like “Freak Nasty” and “Captain Hook” with precision while performing complicated choreography for almost an hour nonstop. She twerked a dozen different ways, showing off her world-famous knee strength. A high-energy crew of male and female dancers dressed in baby pink surrounded her as she shimmered in a glittery pink corset. (It started to break halfway through the show because of how hard she was going.)

Not only is Megan Thee Stallion an icon of female sexual empowerment, she’s a beacon for those who’ve risen above obstacles. Appearing to briefly address the hardships she endured after surviving a shooting at the hands of Tory Lanez, she told the audience, “Being a hottie is not easy. … Fuck all my haters, none of that shit you was doing or sayin’ broke me.” Tens of thousands of dedicated fans gave her detractors the middle finger as she rapped “What’s New.” But she seemed ready to put that pain behind her. After signing a few audience members’ graduation caps, Megan’s fun-loving mood was contagious as she triumphantly closed out the evening with one of her biggest hits, “Savage.” —Nastia Voynovskaya

Tobe Nwigwe

Tobe Nwigwe’s Sunday evening set made it clear: the man moves with intention. As if performing inside an art installation, he sang and rapped soulfully beneath a chorus of gospel singers, with tulle-draped dancers twirling delicately around him. Everything, from the set to the outfits, was mint green. Nwigwe’s uber-talented ensemble included his wife Fat Nwigwe, who rapped during a fiery crescendo as she and Tobe held hands with their two young daughters, both of whom got to say an adorable “bye!” into the microphone. He ended the night with the cheeky “Try Jesus”: “Try Jesus / not me / ’cause I throw hands.” —Nastia Voynovskaya

Dolores’
A new and welcome addition to Outside Lands, the queer nightlife stage Dolores’ was lit throughout the weekend. The “open-air” dance club was a nonstop party that spotlighted Bay Area party collectives Fake and Gay and Hard French, as well as Oasis, the best drag venue in the City. Swinging by Dolores’ on the way to the Land’s End stage offered a quick dance break to house beats and hyperpop Britney Spears remixes, or a chance to see top-tier drag talent like Nikki Jizz, the star and curator of the all-Black drag show Reparations. With so many people traveling to Outside Lands from out of town and out of state, Dolores’ gave San Francisco’s queer and trans performers the extra spotlight they deserve. Let’s hope it becomes a permanent fixture. —Nastia Voynovskaya

Zack Fox

On Saturday, Zack Fox had his audience cackling before he rapped a single bar — or crowd surfed before 3 p.m. Repping Waffle House on a camo long-sleeve, the rapper and Abbott Elementary actor delivered as many laughs as he did beats. The crowd rapped along to every witty verse from his 2019 track “The Bean Kicked In,” which unsubtly references his attraction to Michelle Obama. And they already had the words memorized to his single “dummy,” which debuted the day before his Outside Lands performance. Fox’s set had the energy of a stand-up comedy show, and he closed it with “Jesus Is the One (I Got Depression).” —Olivia Cruz Mayeda

Invisibl Skratch Piklz

Bay Area Filipino DJ legends QBert and D-Styles reaffirmed for the nth time on Saturday why they’re world champions of turntablism. Joined by San Francisco DJ and producer Dan the Automator, the hoodie and puffer-clad trio gave a sonically delicious set that included their rendition of “To Catch a Thief” by Lovage, one of Dan the Automator’s collaborations from a long list of projects that also includes Gorillaz and Deltron 3030.

Sliding smoothly from beat to beat, the DJs started off with ease, expertly cranking up the lifeforce of the audience with every epic break. Once the beat reached the pace of a sprinter’s pulse, their scratches — ranging from high whistles to deep bellows that could’ve come from the earth herself — animated the dense crowd again and again. QBert and D-Styles bodyrocked in unison, giving each other appreciative nods and smiles as they have been for decades. —Olivia Cruz Mayeda

Maggie Rogers

Striding and strutting through “Fallingwater” and her cover of “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” Maggie Rogers worked the stage like a runway, her buoyant energy beaming through the onslaught of heavy fog that became light rain on Saturday evening. Her performance felt punk rock, folksy or indie pop at any given moment, and was as multidimensional as her fit: sunshine yellow leggings, a black leather mini skirt and bright pink eyeshadow.

After Rogers asked, “Is anybody out there in love right now?” to a frankly pitiful crowd response — you alright there, San Francisco? — she got everyone deeper in their feels with her 2021 hit “Love You for a Long Time.” Her performance of “Alaska” isolated her impassioned vocals for its first few verses, breaking from the recorded song and amplifying the chorus of festival goers hundreds of rows deep. “That song makes me feel like a goddamn pop star,” Rogers said. —Olivia Cruz Mayeda

Janelle Monáe

With their latest album, Janelle Monáe has dubbed this summer The Age of Pleasure, and onstage Friday at Outside Lands, a pansexual pool party unfolded between giant beach balls as Monáe luxuriated in each sensual lyric of “Lipstick Lover” and “Water Slide.” Monáe and their dancers donned matching bodysuits and swim caps, while the horn section performed with towels wrapped around their waists. Despite the gimmicks, it was really Monáe’s strong, resounding vocals that impressed the most. During a warm moment of appreciation, they reflected to the audience: “To be Black, to be queer, to be nonbinary and have family like you is a blessing.” —Nastia Voynovskaya

Cuco

Washed-out psychedelia, cumbia and lovers rock swirled during Cuco’s Friday afternoon set as the singer slowly revealed his multi-instrumentalist status. Two trumpet solos, a guitar solo and lots of tinkering on his Yamaha synth showed him in a playful and inspired mood. At the end of the set, he confessed, “Last time I was out here I was dealing with a lot of substance abuse issues, and now I’m here a year sober.” The audience met him with warm, encouraging applause. —Nastia Voynovskaya

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