Last night at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg, Kendrick Lamar teamed up with American Express for a semi-surprise show that represented a massive underplay for the superstar, as Lamar treated a relatively tiny crowd of just a few hundred people to an energetic performance that featured guest rappers picked out of the crowd––to varying successes. 

A portion of the night was broadcast live via Facebook, and the stream featured an opening interview with Lamar in which he discussed his previous views of fame and how they differed from the way he sees his success now, starting from when he first started to gather a following.  “My whole perspective changed,” he says. “Now I understand my purpose for music is to keep people sane and steady throughout their day-to-day life.”

In the concert itself, Lamar brought out some of his biggest hits, including tracks from both Good Kid, M.A.A.D City and last year’s spectacular To Pimp A Butterfly, including the crowd-pleasing “King Kunta.” Lamar also brought up three guests from the crowd to engage in a rap battle of sorts, with the first fan flopping and the following two rising to the occasion. Lamar then followed up with a run of TPAB‘s “Alright,” willing the crowd to raise the energy in the small venue. Watch the Facebook Live video below.