KENDRICK LAMAR, SZA, & TDE:
CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR
Client: Vita Motus / TDE
Site: [The Forum, LA + Tour Locations]
ROLES:
• Lead Stage Designer & Render Artist
• Graphic Designer
• Print Designer
• Vinyl Wrap & Decal Designer
• Prop Designer
PROJECT OVERVIEW
HNZLR was enlisted by Vita Motus to play a key role in the groundbreaking 2018 Championship Tour, uniting the full roster of Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE): Kendrick Lamar, SZA, ScHoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, SiR, Lance Skiiiwalker, with guest appearances by Isaiah Rashad and Zacari.
A TRIUMPHANT ERA
TDE had entered a golden era: DAMN. had gone double platinum and earned Kendrick a Pulitzer Prize; SZA’s CTRL topped charts; and across the roster, accolades, Grammys, and critical acclaim were pouring in. This tour was a deserved victory lap, an ode to triumph and cultural dominance.
VISION TO EXECUTION
TDE’s creative directive fused classic sports iconography with sleek, modern stagecraft. HNZLR delivered on this vision with an arresting double-tiered video wall riser, enabling performers to emerge suddenly from behind the LED backdrop, maximizing visibility and dramatic reveal. He also designed a series of monumental hanging championship banners, a nod to TDE’s legacy, seamlessly merging spatial design with high-impact 2D graphics.
GRAPHIC PLAY AND CULTURAL CODE
TDE’s brand walks the line between gravitas and play, serious artistry with a taste for theatricality. To match this spirit, HNZLR took on multiple creative roles. He designed a collectible set of high-resolution trading cards for print and media, art-directed the vinyl graphic treatment for Kendrick’s Formula M car, and developed several prop and soft goods designs including TDE flags and the oversized T-shirt Gatling gun.
CINEMATIC CONCEPT RENDERING
HNZLR presents live Unreal Engine scenes during client reviews, alongside high-fidelity CAD models with custom aesthetic display modes.
These real-time, in-house visuals are instrumental in confirming concept viability and articulating design intent to adjacent teams.
Clients gain agency by interacting with evolving environments: suggesting prop adjustments, evaluating lighting scenarios, and experiencing spatial transformations live on call.
HNZLR is artistic vision meeting technical execution.
TECHNICAL DRAWINGS
TDE CHAMPION BANNERS
Evoking the reverence of a stadium hall of fame, the championship banners celebrated TDE’s roster and milestones with monumental presence. Designed to unify graphic clarity with architectural rhythm, they demonstrated HNZLR’s ability to move fluidly between spatial and visual disciplines. Positioned upstage and downstage along the proscenium, the banners were revealed through dramatic kabuki drops, concealing and revealing in sync with the stage narrative, without ever occluding the video wall. Meticulous attention was paid to materiality and tone: the selected fabric gray harmonized with TDE’s iconic monochrome-and-red palette while maintaining visibility in low-light conditions.
TDE OFFICIAL TRADING CARDS
In parallel with his lead role on stage design, HNZLR applied his fluency in layout and print media to craft a collectible trading card set. Collaborating with both an illustrator and the TDE roster, he developed retro-styled layouts that merged clean typographic structure with mock stats, playful caricatures, and tongue-in-cheek bios—bridging hip-hop mythology with sports iconography. The cards were designed at high resolution for both physical print and digital media use. Full packaging layouts were also developed and printed as collectible relics.
KENDRICK LAMAR FORMULA-M CAR
Kendrick’s chosen sport motif for the tour was Formula Racing. To bring this concept to life, HNZLR sourced a functional Formula-M [Mazda] car and developed multiple vinyl wrap concepts to align with TDE’s visual identity. The final design was realized in bold, graphic detailing and debuted on stage as a striking set piece, fusing speed, power, and prestige. The car remains a prized artifact in the TDE collection, a symbol of the tour’s kinetic energy and cultural ambition.
[All photos taken and edited by HNZLR directly after vinyl application]
TDE FLAGS + EMBLEMS
PHOTOGRAPHY
