Rihanna helps Kendrick Lamar spread Christmas joy in Los Angeles

Written by . Published: December 22 2017

Pop superstar Rihanna joined forces with rapper Kendrick Lamar on Thursday (21Dec17) to spread some Christmas cheer with a special holiday concert in Los Angeles.


Kendrick invited the Diamonds hitmaker to his TDE Annual Christmas Concert in Watts, a gig he's staged since 2014 to give back to the community, having grown up in nearby Compton. The end-of-year show doubles as a toy drive, with fans asked to bring an unopened present for those in need to gain entry to the afternoon event, which also featured rap veteran E-40.

Rihanna shared her excitement for the charity set in a post on Instagram early on Thursday, writing, "when da homie @kendricklamar say we goin to Watts for the holidaze!!! LA! the @TopDawgEnt #TDEXMAS17 holiday concert and toy drive is TODAY 12pm - 4pm. come thru & bring an unwrapped gift to get in (sic)".

Fans turned out in their hundreds, and were treated to a performance of the stars' collaboration Loyalty, from Kendrick's critically-acclaimed album DAMN, among other tracks.

Rihanna, who later attended her former mentor JAY-Z's final 4:44 Tour stop at Los Angeles' The Forum, returned to social media on Friday (22Dec17) to share photos from the benefit show and thank Kendrick and officials at his Top Dawg Entertainment label for the invitation.

"still on a high from the love I got in Watts man!," she posted. "Thank you @topdawgent for having me! Shout out to the most expensive and over qualified hype man ever @kendricklamar for holding me down!"