Kendrick Lamar took control of the legendary Austin City Limits stage earlier this fall, performing with his Wesley's Theory live band, performing tracks that spanned his entire career. The entire set will air on PBS January 9th, but video of his blistering rendition of "Alright" has already been made available.
Lamar plays off the energy, directing the crowd's volume up and down with his hands like a maestro before calmly uttering the line himself. From there it's exactly what you'd expect: a fierce and relentless performance of To Pimp A Butterfly's heaviest track, one that has grown into a national protest anthem for those fed up with racist systems, brutal cops, inequality and state-sanctioned violence. "Alright" is bigger than Kendrick Lamar himself, and yet only he could have brought it into this world. Watch the video in full below. (And, yes, Lamar edits himself throughout it. This is PBS, after all...) ALso, check out the entire list of Austin City Limits broadcast dates after the jump.
01/02 Alabama Shakes / Vintage Trouble
01/09 Kendrick Lamar
01/16 Ryan Adams / Shakey Graves
01/23 Angélique Kidjo
01/30 Sleater-Kinney / Heartless Bastards
02/06 Leon Bridges / Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
02/13 Tedeschi Trucks Band
