Kendrick Lamar saw Glastonbury Festival home on Sunday with an impactful chant as he rejected the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and ultimately prevent women from accessing safe abortions.
Lamar compared the unjust treatment of Christ to the modern treatment of women in one of the most powerful statements of the weekend.
As the set closer, ‘Savior’, was fading out, Lamar repeatedly recited the phrase: “They judge you, they judge Christ! Godspeed for women’s rights!” Adding to the intensity of the moment, Lamar’s head was encircled with a crown of thorns as blood dripped down his face. Meanwhile, his group of male and female backing dancers stood silently next to him.
Throughout the Compton rapper’s 22-track set, the show was marked by its poignant religious imagery. “I was locked up in LA during the pandemic. You feel like family… I see so many faces. Different creed, different colours,” the Compton rapper said, levelling with the crowd. “Imperfection is beautiful, no matter what they going through. I’m wearing this crown. They judge you, they judge Christ. We’re going to do our best to follow in his image.”
According to Vogue, the crown was made from custom titanium and pavé diamond in a collaboration between Lamar, his creative collaborator Dave Free, and Tiffany & Co. Four core craftsmen allegedly spent over 1,300 hours creating the crown. The impressive art piece features 8,000 cobblestone micro pavé diamonds totalling more than 137 carats and weighing around 200 grams.
In an interview with Vogue, Free said the crown was intended as a sign of respect to the artists who came before Lamar, explaining that it’s “a godly representation of hood philosophies told from a digestible youthful lens.”
The weekend was packed with plenty of fun, but an equal measure of important political outcry. On Saturday night, 19-year-old activist Greta Thunberg made an emphatic appearance to remind the audience of the vital appeal for climate action.
Elsewhere, many other artists spoke out addressing the recent US Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe vs Wade. In an outcry for women’s rights, Friday’s headliner Billie Eilish called it “a really really dark day for women.”
