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Kendrick Lamar and SZA perform at the 12th Annual TDE Christmas Concert and Toy Drive on Dec. 18, 2025, in Los Angeles, California.
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Key Takeaways:
- Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s surprise set energized the crowd at Top Dawg Entertainment’s 12th annual Christmas concert in South Los Angeles.
- The event featured performances from the TDE roster and took place in Nickerson Gardens, blending music with community outreach.
- Fans were treated to live renditions of “30 For 30,” “squabble up” and “luther.”
Fans who attended Top Dawg Entertainment’s 12th Annual Christmas Concert and Toy Drive on Thursday (Dec. 18) in Los Angeles got an early holiday gift. Kendrick Lamar and SZA popped out for a surprise performance at the celebration.
Footage of the dynamic duo performing several songs from their catalog has made it online. They include “30 For 30,” from the crooner’s SOS Deluxe: LANA album, and “squabble up” from the rapper’s GNX album. Of course, they also performed the record-breaking “luther,” which was a major factor in K. Dot earning honors like Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip Hop Artist of the Year for 2025.
TDE’s yearly shindig combines entertainment from its family of artists with philanthropic endeavors for the community like gift and food giveaways. Besides Lamar and SZA, the roster of performers also reportedly included Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre, Ab-Soul, Doechii, Isaiah Rashad, Jay Rock, Ray Vaughn, Schoolboy Q and SiR, among others. Entry to this year’s event required the donation of an “unwrapped toy.” Spanning two days, the first featured the concert and toy drive, while the second, on Friday (Dec. 19), featured family activities and gift giveaways in the Nickerson Gardens housing projects.
Technically, Lamar left the TDE Records fold in 2022 when he delivered his final album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, under the label. Although his music is now released via his own pgLang venture (with former TDE co-president Dave Free) and Interscope Records, he remains close to and part of the brand and its artists.
Lamar hit the stage after recently wrapping his “Grand National Tour” in Australia. Although SZA wasn’t part of that portion of the tour, fellow TDE family members ScHoolboy Q and Doechii joined him Down Under in her place.
A Compton native turned Hip Hop megastar coming back home to perform for his local South Los Angeles community, and for free nonetheless, is highly commendable.
