DJ Akademiks shares report claiming Kendrick Lamar tensed up when a fan ripped off GNX hoodie to reveal Drake shirt at his Toronto show
DJ Akademiks recently took to Instagram on June 18 to post a screenshot of a report that claimed the security at Kendrick Lamar's "Grand National Tour" show in Toronto allegedly witnessed the rapper "tense up" on being approached by a fan wearing a Drake shirt.
For the uninitiated, Kendrick Lamar and SZA performed two consecutive shows in Toronto as part of their record-breaking global stadium tour on June 12 and 13, 2025. This also marked Lamar's first performance in Canada following his contentious rap beef with Drake, a Toronto native, in 2025.
On June 18, 2025, Instagram account @djakademikstv, founded and owned by DJ Akademiks, shared a report that Lamar "almost lost his composure" when a fan came toward the stage in an "aggressive but confusing" way while he was performing Peekaboo from his Grammy-winning album GNX.
The report claimed that the fan, who had allegedly been wearing a GNX hoodie, ripped it off to reveal a Drake t-shirt underneath. An eyewitness, who reportedly saw the encounter, claimed:
"It was like he transformed mid-crowd. Kendrick saw the owl logo and immediately tensed up."
The report also claimed that Kendrick Lamar signaled to his security to intervene after the fan allegedly made a hand gesture that seemingly "indicated Toronto would be his last stop."
The rapper moved to the other end of the stage until the situation was contained. He was allegedly escorted out of Toronto with a 50-person SWAT escort, as per the report.
DJ Akademiks did not provide a source for the report. As of this article, there has been no official source confirming the alleged encounter between Kendrick Lamar and the fan.
Drake called a Canadian politician a "goof" for attending Kendrick Lamar's concert
Jagmeet Singh, the former federal leader of the New Democratic Party, reportedly apologized to Drake for attending Kendrick Lamar's Toronto concert after the Canadian rapper called him a "goof" on social media.
According to Billboard, Drake uploaded a screenshot of his Instagram DMs to the politician on his Instagram Story on June 15. A message from the rapper to the politician read, "You're a goof."
Following this, Singh took to his Instagram Story to issue an apology to the Toronto rapper, claiming that he attended the concert for SZA. The apology read:
“I went for SZA, not Kendrick. I was born in this city. I love this city. But real talk, I get it. I shouldn’t have gone at all. OVO and Drake have lifted up this city and [Canada]. For me it’ll always be Drake over Kendrick.”
This came after Kendrick Lamar's first stop in Toronto was met with a positive response from fans. The rapper received a standing ovation after performing Not Like Us, the diss track where he called Drake a "certified p*dophile."
According to videos from the concert, the song received calls for an encore as fans can be heard yelling, "One more time, one more time."
Lamar also performed his other diss track, Euphoria, the first of the many that he released amid his feud with Drake. The 6-minute song, released in late April 2024, was a response to Drake's earlier diss, Push Ups.
The setlist for "Grand National Tour" also included Kendrick Lamar's older hits like Humble, Alright, and King Kunta. Meanwhile, co-headliner SZA performed Kill Bill, Saturn, BMF and Snooze, among others.
The two artists also joined each other on stage to perform their collaborative songs, including All the Stars, Luther, and 30 for 30.
In other news, Kendrick Lamar and SZA are scheduled to perform in Washington, D.C., on June 18 as their last stop on the tour's North American leg, before going on a two-week break. The tour will begin its European leg on July 2, with the first show in Cologne, Germany.
