LISTEN UP!: HIP HIP-HOP
“If there’s one word,” says Compton, California-born rapper Kendrick Lamar, that sums up his mission in hip-hop, “it’s originality.” Since dropping his first mix-tape 10 years ago at the age of 16, Lamar has evolved into a master of many flows, as comfortable rhyming about Black Panther Fred Hampton as he is about parties. Tomorrow, he’ll be joined by members of his Black Hippy crew and rapper Stalley at Terminal 5, where he plans to live up to the city’s discerning rap crowd. “I bring my A game wherever,” Lamar says, “but New York City especially — it’s the mecca of hip-hop.” And with his upcoming album, “good kid, m.A.A.d city,” featuring collaborators such as Dr. Dre and Lady Gaga, Lamar shows no signs of slowing down.
610 W. 56th St.; 212-582-6600, terminal5-nyc.com. Tickets: $30.
— Charlie Heller