Kendrick Lamar and Mumford & Sons are two artists you would absolutely never expect to be in the same sentence. Lamar is one of the biggest rappers in the world and arguably the best at his craft. Meanwhile, Mumford & Sons blew up with their blend of rock and folk, especially with their hit album Babel in 2012.
However, apparently, the Compton MC himself sought the band out personally when they were working the same festival lineup. Moreover, he left quite the first impression on Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons.
On an episode of the SmartLess podcast with Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes, Mumford recalled meeting Kendrick Lamar at Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2015. According to the folk singer, he was specifically requested by Lamar. Without a second thought, he answered the call. “There was a message that came down from on high that Kendrick would like to see you. When Kendrick calls, you come, right, because he’s the king,” he explained.
But what could’ve been just an ordinary conversation turned out to be a lot more memorable. Mumford recalled walking into the dressing room, and Lamar reached out right in the middle of changing outfits.
Kendrick Lamar and Mumford & Sons Collide in 2015
“He took almost all of his clothes as I walked in. It was amazing,” Mumford recalled. “I thought, like, the gumption to be like, ‘Yeah, come on back after the show, and it will be the very moment I take all my clothes off, and I’m just down to my undies, and we’ll have a chat.’”
Ultimately, the act of undressing in front of someone you’re meeting for the first time really stuck with Marcus Mumford. He said the moment with Kendrick Lamar was “real confidence. Swag.”
Looking back at the different Bonnaroo Music Festival lineups in the past, Kendrick Lamar performed in 2012, 2015, and 2023. Mumford & Sons only shared the bill with the West Coast legend in 2015, which is likely where they met.
That confidence is reflected in what Lamar believes to be his “superpower” as an artist. In an interview with SZA for Harper’s BAZAAR, he argued that his ability to tap into “feminine energy” was his biggest strength.
“But the more I delve deeper into my music and the more expressive I get with myself … that is the feminine energy right there. That’s not the bravado that I grew up seeing all the time. This is who I am, the soft-spoken me, and I have to own it,” Kendrick Lamar said.
“This is where my superpower lies. Because if my job is to communicate, I need to be able to communicate with everyone. I need to be able to sit in front of SZA and talk to you in a way where you feel comfortable, in a way where it feels authentic from me to you, you to me, and I can’t do that with a wall up. I can’t do that with my full masculinity.”
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
The post The ‘Real Confidence’ Move Kendrick Lamar Pulled on This Indie Rock Star at Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2015 appeared first on VICE.
