Kendrick Lamar and SZA Confirm UK Dates for Grand National Tour as Baby Keem Returns with New Album

It is shaping up to be a monumental year for the wider pgLang family, with major announcements dropping on both sides of the Atlantic. Following a show-stopping performance at the NFL Super Bowl halftime show, Kendrick Lamar and SZA have confirmed they are bringing their ‘Grand National Tour’ to the UK and Europe. In a coordinated flurry of activity, Lamar’s cousin and frequent collaborator Baby Keem has also broken his silence, announcing his sophomore album and a world tour that includes stops in Britain later this year.

The Grand National Tour Arrives in Britain

Kendrick Lamar and SZA have added 14 UK and European dates to their schedule, news that will come as a relief to fans who watched their chemistry unfold during the Super Bowl. The pair are set to visit four UK cities across five nights, with performances booked for London, Birmingham, Cardiff, and Glasgow.

The announcement comes fresh from Kendrick’s halftime set, where he showcased his five-time Grammy award-winning diss track ‘Not Like Us’. The televised performance, viewed by millions worldwide, featured a surprise appearance from SZA for a rendition of ‘All The Stars’, offering a preview of what ticket holders can expect. While the US leg of the tour kicks off in Minneapolis on 19 April before hitting stadiums in Houston, Arlington, and Atlanta, British fans won’t have too long to wait to secure their spots.

For those hoping to attend, tickets for the UK leg of the Grand National Tour go on general sale on Friday, February 14, at 9 am. This follows a week of high demand during various presale windows, including O2 Priority and Live Nation allocations.

Baby Keem Unveils ‘Ca$ino’

While Lamar dominates the stadium circuit, his cousin Baby Keem is making a significant return to the spotlight. The US rapper has announced that his new studio album, Ca$ino, will arrive on 20 February. This marks his first major release since his acclaimed 2021 debut, The Melodic Blue.

The new record spans twelve tracks and features a heavy-hitting lineup of guest artists, including Too $hort, Che Ecru, and, unsurprisingly, Kendrick Lamar himself. The creative partnership between the two cousins remains central to Keem’s work. Often referring to themselves as ‘The Hillbillies’, the pair have collaborated frequently in recent years on tracks such as ‘Family Ties’ and ‘Range Brothers’, and it appears this dynamic will be front and centre on the new project.

Exploring Family Roots

To herald the album announcement, Keem released a teaser trailer that blends studio footage, home videos, and interviews with family members. The clip offers a candid look at the environment that shaped both artists.

In the trailer, Kendrick speaks openly about their shared heritage and the psychological landscape of their upbringing. “I understood the hardness even before he was born, just through the history of our family overall,” Lamar explains in the clip. “We don’t call ourselves the Hillbillies for no reason. It is the story of an environment in a state of combat and an internal, psychological battle to break through generational patterns.” The visual ends with a snippet of a new song, which seemingly features vocals from Lamar.

A Summer of Touring

Baby Keem is not just releasing music; he is hitting the road. Mirroring his cousin’s schedule, Keem’s tour kicks off in North America this April, taking him through numerous cities across the US and Canada.

British and European fans can catch him later in the year, as the tour crosses the Atlantic in late summer. The schedule includes major stops in London and Manchester, alongside dates in Paris and Amsterdam. He is also set to perform two nights in Germany, appearing in Cologne on 31 August and at the Berlin Tempodrom on 1 September.

This tour marks a full-scale return for Keem, who has kept a relatively low profile musically since The Melodic Blue. His most recent output was the 2023 collaboration ‘Leavemealone’ with Fred again.., Four Tet, and Skrillex. Prior to that, he was seen on stage with Kendrick and Brent Faiyaz at Coachella, but Ca$ino signals the start of a new chapter for the rapper.