Yahoo Finance Kendrick Lamar Talks to Young Concertgoer, Gives Him Inspiring Letter: 'You Will Forever Be Great'
Samir Hussein/WireImage Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar values personal connection with his fans, no matter what age they are.
While performing in Detroit as part of his The Big Steppers Tour on Sunday, Lamar shared a sweet interaction with a young fan in the crowd — also named Kendrick — speaking encouraging words to him from the stage and sending him home with a handwritten letter.
According to photos and videos posted to social media from the Little Caesars Arena performance, the 35-year-old "Humble" musician spotted the 9-year-old concertgoer holding a sign that read, "My name is Kendrick. This is my 1st concert. Can We Take a Pic."
Lamar then spoke to the fan, encouraging the child to "respect and honor" his parents, as they brought him to the concert.
"Always honor them, man," said the Pulitzer Prize winner. "They brung you to your first concert. Always respect and honor them."
"You will forever be great. You're great right now. You can do whatever you wanna put your mind to, you know it? You understand that?" Lamar continued from the stage. "Little Kendrick, do what you wanna do in life."
Frazer Harrison/Getty Kendrick Lamar
The young fan's father, David Stewart, shared a video of Lamar's speech to Instagram alongside the caption, "I was hoping for a picture but this was a million times better! @kendricklamar gave my son a speech."
Following his performance, Lamar wrote a heartfelt letter to the fan on the back of his sign. "Young Kendrick. Thank you for coming," began the note. "I'm glad we got to exchange energy. You are special."
Lamar wrote further, "Continue to manifest the great energy you possess!!! See you next time!!! Luv!!!"
“Young Kendrick” 🥲 @kendricklamar pic.twitter.com/VyC0qfQ6Ln
— apgLangformat (@apgLangformat) August 15, 2022
On Tuesday, Stewart wrote on his Instagram Story, "I named my son after Kendrick 9 years ago. I was at a Kendrick Lamar concert the moment my son was born!! And for that moment to take place is definitely amazing that the universe came back full circle like that!"
This isn't the first intimate connection Lamar's shared with his crowd members on The Big Steppers Tour. Last month, a clip of a security guard wiping away tears during a performance of 2017's "LOVE." went viral on TikTok.
After the show, Lamar gave the security guard a shoutout in an interview with 12-year-old Jazzy of Jazzy's WorldTV.
"It's really just about the feeling of it. At the end of the day, past all the politics, past all the numbers, it's what music makes you feel, how it makes you feel," Lamar told the young reporter. "So to see that [video], and shoutout to him by the way, cause I see him, bro. I was like, 'Man, I wonder what he's going through.'"
Lamar continued: "But at the end of the day, that's how you want everybody to receive your music and, you know, make them feel good, make them feel like a moment they're attached to, it could live forever."
The video — in which a security guard grows emotional and wipes away tears as he sings along to "Love" at a concert at the Toyota Center in Houston on July 22 — went viral following the show after user @dejaihvu shared it to TikTok. It currently has over 14 million views.
The staffer identified himself as Devyn Sanford in the comments section of the video, and he explained that the song "Love" holds a special place in his heart.
"That's me in the post y'all… this song means EVERYTHING to me and I was feeling everybody around me emotions… definitely love getting paid to do this," he wrote.
Lamar's The Big Steppers Tour continues its North American run, featuring opening acts Baby Keem and Tanna Leone, until Sept. 17 before he takes the tour overseas to Europe and Oceania through Dec. 17.
