After toppling Drake in a high-profile feud, winning a record-breaking five Grammy Awards and conquering the Super Bowl half-time show, Kendrick Lamar will close the year by heading to Australia.
The biggest name in rap will headline the Spilt Milk festival in December, alongside fellow Grammy Award winner Doechii, who won best rap album at this year’s ceremony.
Kendrick Lamar performed his Drake diss track at this year’s Super Bowl. He is heading to Australia in December to headline the Spilt Milk festival.Credit: Getty Images
The two US acts will headline Spilt Milk in Ballarat, Canberra, the Gold Coast and Perth, alongside R&B artist Dominic Fike, pop singer Nessa Barrett, Sombr, Rebecca Black, Baby J, Club Angel and more.
The confirmation of Lamar and Doechii as headliners coincides with the return of Spilt Milk, which was cancelled last year. At the time, organisers issued a statement on Instagram: “Sorry pookies, we couldn’t get you the Spilt Milk you deserved this year.”
Spilt Milk’s 2024 cancellation was part of a slew of festivals falling over, with Splendour in the Grass, the Falls Festival and Harvest Rock – all owned by Live Nation – also being cancelled.
Lamar last toured Australia in 2022, but he has since captured the zeitgeist following a bruising rap battle with fellow hip-hop artist Drake.
The feud exploded last year when, between March and May, the pair traded intensely personal diss tracks that included accusations of grooming, illegitimate children and violence against women, at a frequency designed to break the internet. Drake has denied all the allegations against him and commenced legal action against Universal Music Group, the label that represents both artists.
Spilt Milk, owned by Live Nation, returns in 2025 after being cancelled in 2024.Credit:
Not Like Us served as the knockout blow, damaging Drake’s reputation and becoming one of Lamar’s most successful releases ever, picking up five Grammy Awards and forming the centrepiece of Lamar’s Super Bowl half-time show. The track includes the line, “Say Drake, I hear you like ’em young”.