Kendrick, Imagine Dragons’ Grammys Performance – Today in Hip-Hop

XXL celebrates 50 years of hip-hop with this moment:

Jan. 26, 2014: On this day in 2014, Kendrick Lamar teamed up with rock band Imagine Dragons for a mash-up performance of the their current hits, “m.A.A.d city” and “Radioactive,” respectively, at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. It’s been considered by many to be an epic performance that deserves some new-millennium preservation.

Those of us lucky enough to see hip-hop history in the making during that particular televised 2014 Grammys show, or even better, see it live, will remember K-Dot‘s explosive performance during his rendition of “m.A.A.d city.” During their set, both Kendrick and the band members were dressed in all white as colored powder cannons went off around him and the rock band.

Between the blended bass lines and the raw energy exhibited by the Compton rhymer and Imagine Dragons lead singer Dan Reynolds, the mash-up was undoubtedly one of the best performances of the night. The collaboration was also released on iTunes the next day under the title, “Radioactive (Remix)” and helped boost albums sales for both Kendrick and Imagine Dragons.

A week after this electrifying show, Imagine Dragons performed the remix for a second time on Saturday Night Live, where Kendrick would reprise his performance once more.

Kendrick also had somewhat of a controversial experience on this Grammys night back in 2014. The creative rhymer received seven nominations but went home empty-handed. Most notably, Kendrick lost the Best Rap Album trophy for his critically acclaimed debut album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ project, The Heist.

K-Dot took it all in stride and sat down with XXL to discuss how he felt about the Best Rap Album loss. “He [Macklemore] went out there and hustled and grinded,” he said. “Everything happens for a reason; the universe comes back around, that’s how it go.”

At least we have video of Kendrick Lamar‘s stellar performance at the 2014 Grammy Awards as a consolation prize.

Watch Imagine Dragons and Kendrick Lamar Perform “Radioactive” and “m.A.A.d city” at the 2014 Grammy Awards Below

Watch Black Sounds Beautiful: How Kendrick Lamar Became A Rap Icon Below

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