Kendrick Lamar review: Abu Dhabi F1 gets the hip-hop spectacle it deserves

While hip-hop is one of the world's most dominant musical genres, commercially and culturally, its eminence hasn’t always been reflected in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after-race concert series.

Of the 48 artists who have performed as part of the festivities since the inaugural race, only nine can be classified as rappers — sorry, Post Malone, you don’t make the cut because you sing too much. From that handful, only one has headlined the prestigious race day concert, with Eminem putting on a barnstorming show in 2012.

To be fair, you really can’t blame promoters for this dearth because frankly — with the exception of a notable few — large scale hip-hop shows can be derivative.

Future performing at the Abu Dhabi Formula One after-race concert at du Arena on November 29, 2019. Pawan Singh / The National

Abu Dhabi F1 concert-goers would have experienced this in the 2019 double bill of Future and Gucci Mane, who basically performed a club show in a stadium. Other acts have shown the genre’s full potential, with thrilling sets by Jay-Z in 2013, J Cole in 2017 and last year’s blistering concert by UK grime star Stormzy.

And Kendrick Lamar has now raised the bar, with an explosive show at Etihad Park on Saturday. Simply put, this was the best performance by a hip-hop artist at the Abu Dhabi F1.

It was powerful and kinetic and had just the right amount of production values to keep the non-fan engrossed. But what was more impressive is how uncompromising it was.

Touring on the back of a new album, Mr Morale & The Big Steppers, I wondered how these songs — often dark explorations of childhood trauma — would translate on a festival stage. Lamar solved the challenge by dialling up the drama.

Each track was performed with the cold intensity of a supreme technician. His varied vocal delivery and use of rhymes, cadence and syntax created a rhythm of its own that made heart-wrenching tracks United In Grief and N95 almost operatic in their grandeur.

Die Hard was also a standout from the new album, with Lamar positioning his vocals between passionate spoken word and mournful croon. These bewitching excursions into tumultuous subjects made the arrival of the big anthems all the more impactful.

Etihad Park was jumping to the sounds of Kendrick Lamar. Photo: Flash Entertainment

Nearly 30,000 people bounced along to the marauding piano line of Humble. and the horn-soaked funk of King Kunta. The faithful were also rewarded with a blistering take on m.A.A.d city, Lamar’s breakout track, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.

With all the performative fireworks on display, it is easy to forget how minimal the show actually was.

Lamar took and owned the stage solo. Backed by thematic visuals for each song, from the blue monochrome of DNA. to the fire and sun of King Kunta, each song was given its own moment. Wearing a baseball cap, shirt and boots, he kept his interaction with the crowd minimal, so when the rapper did address “the energy in Abu Dhabi”, the crowd roared.

Ending the set with the propulsive Saviour and a fireworks display, Lamar delivered a hip-hop spectacle worthy of the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix.

After-race concerts continue with Def Leppard taking to the stage at Etihad Park on Sunday.

Access to after-race concerts is exclusive to Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ticket holders. Tickets are available online at www.yasmarinacircuit.com and through the Yas Marina Circuit Call Centre on 800 927 or 02 659 9800

Forty-five artists who have played at the Abu Dhabi F1 After-Race Concerts — in pictures

The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.

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Gertrude Bell's life in focus

A feature film

At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.

A documentary

A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.

Books, letters and archives

Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Prop idols

Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.

Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)

An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.

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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)

Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.

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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)

Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.

Results

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