At the closing of an exciting and active year for the music industry, two of modern hip-hop’s most notable figures announced their national tour together, which is set to take off April of 2025. After releasing his surprise album GNX less than a month ago, Kendrick Lamar released details for his Grand National Tour featuring SZA, who released the most recent of her chart-topping albums last year. Not only that, but SZA will also be co-starring in the highly anticipated Kendrick Lamar Super Bowl halftime show. The halftime show in February will be the unofficial trailer of the Grand National Tour that begins just two months later in Minneapolis.
All of these plans are on the heels of another very busy year for the two, particularly Kendrick, who publicly feuded with fellow rapper Drake for the majority of the summer. Drake is also currently teasing the release of an album with PARTYNEXTDOOR, but after heavy coverage of the feud on the internet, it is likely that Kendrick and SZA will continue to experience the most success of all from their 2025 productions. Indeed, the Grand National Tour is already a hot topic for many young people in the community. Many students at Chesterton High School have their heart set on getting tickets for the Chicago tour dates in June. As seen in the past, however, this goal is not always an achievable one.
After Taylor Swift’s 2023 Era’s Tour, the world has thrown a united fit over the obscenity of concert ticket prices. To see a speck of Taylor Swift at the United Center in Chicago was paid for by some fans with their life savings, and fellow stars Kendrick Lamar and SZA are said to have similar conditions when it comes to ticket sales.
In every area of the world, prices are rising to inadaptable heights, and the people on the receiving end of all this extra money are not the ones who need it most. The price of a good time has gone up exponentially, and this can be especially tough for the majority of people hoping to buy concert tickets: high school kids. There are so many things that cost money and teenagers have so little of it, but with every tour that is announced by a popular artist, the majority of kids decide that the cost is in fact worth it.
As the holidays approach, some students have made the decision to forsake gifts for Christmas, and instead ask for concert tickets worth hundreds of dollars in lieu of presents under the tree, and the hefty price is no guarantee of a good bang for their buck. Although the United Center is very well formatted for concerts and other live events, there are still inevitably going to be people who will only see their favorite singers from a jumbotron, which poses the question: is it even worth the money?
The answer, according to CHS students, is yes.
“I think that this collab will be perfect and was worth spending over 200 bucks on,” says CHS freshman Mina Arulandu, who will be attending the concert in Chicago on June 6 among the other like-minded fans.
It seems to be that if a fan of either Kendrick Lamar or SZA has a few hundred dollars on hand, it is going straight towards this pressing cause. After all, both artists have been topping charts since the 2010s and continue to hold a heavy influence over people to this day. The honest lyricism applied over engaging melodies in their songs leaves something for everyone to appreciate, especially teenagers, who need music 24/7 and use it as somewhat of a coping mechanism for all sorts of feelings.
Possibly the most gratifying aspect of the Grand National Tour is its impact on its fans. After a long and dark winter of school or college or work, there’s nothing better than seeing your favorite music performed live and loud during the comeuppance of summer. Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Grand National Tour is sure to be the top priority of the summer for everyone who has their priorities straight.
