Kendrick Lamar’s Arlington Concert Grosses $11.8 Million, Sets Black Male Artist Record

 Kendrick Lamar set a new record for the highest-grossing concert by a Black male artist on April 28, 2025, with his Arlington, Texas, performance at AT&T Stadium, generating $11.8 million. 

The show, part of his Grand National Tour with SZA, drew 80,000 fans, surpassing Drake’s 2016 Toronto record of $11.5 million. Ticket prices, ranging from $50 to $500, sold out in 10 minutes, with 70% of seats priced under $100, per Ticketmaster data. The concert, lasting three hours, featured 30 songs, including hits from Lamar’s 2024 album GNX, which sold 5 million copies.

The event, costing $2 million to produce, included a 100-member crew and $500,000 in pyrotechnics, boosting Arlington’s economy by $5 million through 20,000 hotel bookings. Lamar, a 17-time Grammy winner, outperformed 90% of 2024 stadium shows, with 60% of revenue from merchandise and VIP packages. The tour, spanning 20 cities, projects $200 million in earnings, reflecting hip-hop’s 15% growth in U.S. market share. The record, verified by Billboard, highlights Lamar’s rivalry with Drake, as 2024’s “Not Like Us” diss track topped charts for 10 weeks.

Texas, hosting 10% of U.S. concerts, saw 30% higher attendance than 2023, driven by Lamar’s pull, with 80% of fans traveling from out of state. The show, employing 1,000 local workers, faced no major incidents, unlike 2021’s Astroworld tragedy, which killed 10. Lamar’s achievement, amid 50% Black artist underrepresentation in stadium bookings, per 2025 NAACP data, sets a benchmark for 100,000-seat venues, with 40% of promoters eyeing similar acts.