It’s an alchemy that’s in play for the entire show, with Mr. Morale tracks like N95, Die Hard, Rich Spirit, Crown and Savior earning their place alongside classics like Humble, DNA, Swimming Pools (Drank), Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe, Alright and King Kunta.

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But the music is only one element of what makes tonight’s show one for the ages.

Lamar understands how to stage a proper spectacle: there’s an endlessly inventive theatricality at play throughout, whether it’s Lamar rapping while holding a ventriloquist dummy of himself, giant silhouette projections, a piano that intermittently rises from beneath the stage for Lamar to play or a large, transparent cube populated by men in hazmat suits who give Lamar a COVID test.

That’s not to mention the retina-searing pyrotechnics, a stunning light show, 11 dancers and a cameo from Lamar’s 22-year-old cousin Baby Keem for the Grammy-winning song Family Ties, which is met with a reception so thunderous it makes your rib cage vibrate.

There’s not a lot of stage banter from Lamar, but there doesn’t need to be: everything that must be said is done so through the music and engrossing visuals, Lamar rapping with masterful control and well-earned confidence.

Although he performs with a calm stoicism, a beaming smile breaks out across Lamar’s face a couple of times during the show, the MC moved enough to drop the straight-faced facade and soak up the intense joy being projected onto him by the audience.

He’s right to bask in it, and the crowd is right to feel it: this is a top-tier, era-defining artist at the peak of his powers, triumphantly stationed at the centre of a complex, endlessly fascinating universe of his own creation.

To simply say Lamar can rap is like saying Picasso can pick up a pencil: what he does is deliver a complete artistic vision that’s unlike anything else, and to see it come to life in real-time is to know you’re in the presence of greatness.

Kendrick Lamar plays a second and final Sydney show at Qudos Bank Arena tonight.