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Kendrick Lamar Just Showed Up At His West Loop Pop-Up Shop

By Isra Rahman | July 27, 2017 8:51am | Updated on July 27, 2017 2:13pm

WEST LOOP — Hundreds of Kendrick Lamar fans got a welcome boost Thursday when the rapper showed up at a one-day pop-up shop he set up in the West Loop.

The store was opened to sell merchandise ahead of his concert at the United Center. 

And his fans were ready.

A huge line of fans snaked for blocks outside the California-based rapper's shop at Notre, 118 N. Peoria, St., which features new merchandise advertising his new album "DAMN." It opens from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

Mac Chuchra traveled all the way from Iowa to Chicago in hopes he would see the rapper, camping out at the store starting at 4 a.m. 

"He speaks to me so much as an artist. 'To Pimp a Butterfly' means a lot because I have suffered from mental illness and he talks about issues such as mental illness," Chuchra said. "He makes it more mainstream." 

Akonixx Harmon, a musician himself, said he is inspired by Kendrick's ability to tell a story. 

"It's not about your typical 'sex, drugs, money' story. [His music] goes back to the roots of rap," Harmon said. 

Lamar announced the series of pop-up shops in cities across the country in a tweet July 10. 

The artist is on tour  to promote "DAMN," released April 14. The pop-up shop coincides with Lamar's Chicago concert Thursday at the United Center. 

Chicagoans hoped Kendrick would stop by after he surprised fans at the Dallas pop-up which was scheduled the same day as his Dallas concert. And he didn't disappoint.

 

Kendrick Lamar also is scheduled to return to Chicago for another concert on Aug. 20. 

Merchandise inside Kendrick Lamar's pop-up shop at Notre Thursday. [DNAinfo/Isra Rahman]