Kendrick Lamar On The Drum Corps Field

Big news for Kendrick Lamar fans broke today:

Needless to say, this is huge news for the superstar rapper and songwriter, but, as drum corps fans will attest, his music has already appeared on the football field a few times in recent years.

In 2018, the Guardians first brought Kendrick Lamar’s music into the drum corps idiom with their show DAMNED. Combined with selections from Kanye West, Kesha, Childish Gambino, and, in a unique but excellent twist, Gustav Mahler‘s 2nd Symphony, the show was eclectic not only for its mixture of current and 19th century classical music, but also for the use of a vocal ensemble at the front of the field, adding to the power and emotion of the show.

Staying in Open Class, the 2021 Colt Cadets incorporated Kendrick’s “Pray For Me” as part of their Together/Apart show, which was showcased during the 2021 DCI Celebration season and the only time the Colt Cadets performed on all three days (Thursday/Friday/Saturday) of DCI week. The show focused on the impact the COVID pandemic had on both the corps as well as the activity as a whole, as we literally celebrated the return of drum corps after the first vaccines were made available. The show also demonstrated the impact of the pandemic on the activity as the Colt Cadets fielded no guard that season, though the brass and percussion filled the stadium with their emotion and sound to make up for it.

This past season, two corps utilized Kendrick’s music in their shows. First was the Blue Stars, celebrating their 60th anniversary show, Universal. During the middle section of the show, the lyrics of the Kendrick/SZA collaboration “All The Stars” were heard as part of a transition between songs. It seemed appropriate to hear the worlds “all the stars are closer” as the horns moved forward on the field to envelop the audience in their sparkling sound.

It was the Santa Clara Vanguard, returning from a year’s hiatus with a strong 6th place finish and top percussion honors, who designed their show, Vagabond, around the Kendrick song “United In Grief”. Along with the audio queues of “tell ’em”, “I hope you find some peace of mind in this lifetime”, and “I hope you find some paradise”, the corps also played the melodic “I hope you find…” theme throughout the show as a lietmotif for the vagabond traveler making their way across the field and the world to tell their story.

With the number of awards and nominations Kendrick Lamar has received for his music and his writing, it may be a little surprising that there is only these four examples of his music in drum corps, especially as the activity has embraced the use of non-traditional instrumentation and effects in shows. As drum crops continues to evolve and mirror the current membership and designers, what other compositions of Kendrick’s should the activity explore? What other artists should drum corps add to its ever expanding repertoire?