NEWS
Kendrick Lamar's Grand National Tour does more than break stadium records, he is gifting fans up-close-and-personal moments backstage as well. The rap star took a moment to provide a woman, who goes by @obenewow on Tiktok, with a viral "bestie" moment behind-the-scenes after he noticed her energy during the show. The woman captioned the clip of her and Lamar as "besties now."
Kendrick Lamar could be seen posing for a photo. After the woman informed him it was a video, the rap star relaxed and complimented the woman on her energy during the show while saying what's up everyone watching the clip. "You did your stuff, you were rocking out there," Kendrick said to the fan as he exited the frame.
The woman captioned the clip, "POV: Kendrick notices you from the crowd. 2. Lets you come backstage to get this video. 3. Tells you 'you did your stuff'. 4. You are now besties."
The comments ranged from hilarious requests for a collaboration between the fan and rap star to complimenting the fan's energy. "So basically yall got a track together on the next album now," commented a Tiktok user.
Congratulating the lucky fan, a user commented, "Congratulations *tyrese voice* ! I wouldn’t have been able to hold the camera still lol this is my fan fiction dream lol. Omg were you in the pit or somewhere else?"
The U.S. leg of the Grand National Tour concluded on Wednesday (June 18) in Washington D.C. at the Northwest Stadium. Ari Lennox, a frequent collaborator of SZA, was in attendance.
The tour goes international in July after announcing an Australian leg of the tour last month. Kendrick and company will head to Germany, Scotland, U.K., Italy, and more. It will in on August 9 in Stockholm, Sweden. The tour is expected to achieve more milestones overseas.
Kendrick Lamar’s GNX has become a unstoppable in 2025, stacking accolades and breaking records across every major platform. At the 2025 BET Awards, the album earned Album of the Year, contributing to Lamar’s five wins, including Best Male Hip Hop Artist, Best Collaboration for “Luther” with SZA, Music Video of the Year, and Video Director of the Year.
June 19 marks the one-year anniversary of Kendrick Lamar's legendary Pop Out concert in Los Angeles. The lineup featured all L.A. rapper. Tyler the Creator, Roddy Ricch, and DJ Mustard were among the performers.
NEWS
Oliver Tree’s team has provided a new update following the singer’s death in a helicopter crash on June 14, confirming that a new artist grant will soon be established in his memory to help creatives secure funding, a plan he had detailed in his will before his passing.
Accompanying a collection of photos highlighting Tree’s performances, travels and creative work through the years, a post shared Sunday (June 21) on his Instagram account revealed that the musician’s remains have been brought back to California, the state he called home and where he will be laid to rest. “His legacy will live on through his foundation/endowment named ‘Dr. Oliver Tree’s Extremely Epic Grant For Baby Geniuses’ coming soon,” the caption reads. “This is something that Oliver had put together before his passing.”
“We will make sure his wish comes to fruition so that more joy, love and art can be spread into the world, that was his final wish,” the statement continued, adding that “the constant love, support and positivity” shown by fans throughout the past week has helped his “family, friends and collaborators make it through these extremely difficult times.”
Tree was among six people who lost their lives in a helicopter collision in Rio de Janeiro. The musician was in Brazil for his The World’s First Tour run and had performed what would ultimately be his final concert on June 6 in São Paulo. The other victims of the crash were identified as passengers Lucas Vignale, Gaspar Prim and Lucas Brito Chaves, along with pilots Alexandre Souza and Charles Marsillac.
Just months before his death, Tree discussed his plans to direct his fortune and future earnings from his music toward a grant program for artists during an appearance on the Zach Sang Show. “I take no credit for anything I’ve ever done,” he said during the April interview. “Furthermore, I don’t believe that any of the wealth or things that get made from it is mine. So when I die … my will is set up so that when I pass, my family, nobody is going to get a penny.”
“If I have a wife or kids or anything, they’re not getting a penny,” he added at the time, explaining that the initiative would focus on helping artists create work rather than funding education. “I’ll get my kids through college, that’s the agreement, but there’s not gonna be a silver spoon. All the money is going to go back to artists.”
