Phoenix Symphony closes season with Kendrick Lamar classical mashup

For the third year in a row, the Phoenix Symphony will close out its season on May 29 and 30 with a classical/rap fusion, this time blending the music of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet masterpiece “Petrushka” with Kendrick Lamar’s multiple award-winning album “DAMN.”

“Stravinsky X Kendrick Lamar” is “the most ambitious of my fusion works because of the complexity and the difficulty of the original material” by both artists, says Steve Hackman, the composer, conductor, producer, DJ, arranger, songwriter, singer and pianist behind the project.

He also created “Beethoven X Beyoncé,” which was last season’s final performance, and “The Resurrection Mixtape” — brought here in 2024 — which fused Mahler with Notorious BIG and Tupac Shakur, among many other classical-meets-modern shows. The symphony also hosted Hackman’s “Brahms v. Radiohead” in March 2022.

The parallels between the artists and the works in this composition are uncanny, according to Hackman. Both works share a narrative device of a show within a show and similar themes, the works and artists were groundbreaking and highly successful in their times and Stravinsky and Lamar even share a birthday, 105 years apart.

An ideal pairing

“Petrushka” takes place at a Russian festival during Mardi Gras, where a puppet master brings three puppets to life with a magic flute. “DAMN.” features a gunshot that introduces an alternate reality.

In “Petrushka,” the characters in the ballet are puppets — in a jealous love triangle, no less — who feel human emotions, which happen to be the same ones as the track names on “DAMN.”: “HUMBLE.,” “PRIDE.,” “PRIDE.,” “LUST.,” “LOYALTY.” and so on.

Hackman says his original idea for fusing Stravinsky and Lamar was to use “The Rite of Spring” and “To Pimp a Butterfly.” But then he saw an opportunity.

“I started to realize, ‘Wow, “Petrushka” and “DAMN.” not only share the same crucial narrative device, … but I think I could arrange them chronologically. I think I could make it work that they actually go in order, intertwined,’” Hackman says. “So I pivoted to this pairing.”

Incidentally, although “Stravinsky X Kendrick Lamar” is a new show, “DAMN.” was released on April 14, 2017, during President Donald Trump’s first term, and Hackman wrote this composition in 2018.

After it came out, “DAMN.” was a phenomenon, earning a Pulitzer Prize for Music (the first rap album to do so), Billboard Music and Grammy awards for Top Rap Album, an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Album and many more accolades.

Hackman says “the depth of the themes, the brilliance of the structure, the virtuosity of the writing and performances” earned “DAMN.” such praise. Like Lamar, Stravinsky was an acclaimed composer in his time when he penned “Petrushka,” which revolutionized and became a cornerstone of Russian ballet.

“Petrushka,” Hackman notes, is “a virtuosic showpiece” for orchestras, and the piano part especially is “fiendishly difficult.” “DAMN.,” he adds, is “unbelievably complex,” with different sections, changes to the rhythmic patterns and feel, and a breadth of material, including samples.

As with Hackman’s other fusions, profanity will be removed from the lyrics in “Stravinsky X Kendrick Lamar.”

“I think the majority of the audience will be understanding that there are settings when the profanity is not called for or appropriate,” Hackman explains.

A ‘unifying force‘ for diverse music fans

Hackman states that his goal with these fusions is to create a deeper, wider appreciation of the original music — whether that’s speaking to a traditional symphony patron who might never have heard of “DAMN.” or a Lamar fan who perhaps hasn’t listened to much classical music.

“I do feel as a conductor and as a curator that it’s my role to maybe guide people through music they don’t understand yet,” he says.

Phoenix Symphony Vice President of Operations and Artistic Planning Christopher Powell calls Hackman’s fusions a “unifying force,” bringing together traditional symphony patrons and newcomers. He estimates roughly half of the audience at the Hackman shows have never attended a symphony performance before.

“Hopefully, something like this will make people realize the symphony’s not a stuffy place,” he states.

If you haven’t been to one of these programs, it’s a whole thing. People sing along, they stand up and dance, they wave their phone flashlights, they dress in everything from streetwear to sequins.

This happens at other performances, to be sure (witness: audience members doing the Hustle at “Disco Divas” in February), but it tends to be electric at these fusions, and they appeal to a more diverse demographic than other pops concerts.

“Stravinsky X Kendrick Lamar” will combine the talents of the Phoenix Symphony with a lineup of what Hackman says are “phenomenal” touring musicians, including vocalist Khalil Overton, emcees Jecorey Arthur and Ajani NaNaBuluku, drummer TaRon Lockett and bassist Bobby Wooten III.

An hour before the show, the high-energy hip-hop Furious Styles Crew will perform in the lobby, and it’s a must-see to get hyped for what’s to come. After the concert, Hackman and the artists will be in the lobby meeting and greeting. Tickets start at $36.

“It’s such a gorgeous way to end the season,” Powell says. “To end the season with this joyful combination of young and old, of classic and modern — it’s what’s right with the world.”