Kendrick Lamar, fresh off his recent victory over fellow rap titan Drake, transformed his Juneteenth ‘Pop Out’ concert at the Forum into an uplifting, live-streamed celebration of unity in Los Angeles.
The three-hour event, curated by Lamar, showcased a diverse lineup of emerging LA rappers and established stars such as Tyler, The Creator, Steve Lacy, and YG. When it was Lamar’s turn to perform, the 37-year-old rapper delivered an electrifying set with Black Hippy members Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock. He performed his Drake diss tracks ‘Euphoria‘ and ‘6:16 in LA‘, before Dr. Dre joined him on stage.
The legendary duo performed ‘Still D.R.E.‘ and ‘California Love‘, captivating the audience. Dre then called for a moment of silence, surprising the crowd with the iconic ‘Sixth Sense’ quote from Lamar’s hit ‘Not Like Us‘: “I see dead people.”
Among the 17,000-strong crowd were notable figures such as The Weeknd, LeBron James, Ayo Edebiri, and Rick Ross. The audience rapped along enthusiastically to the DJ Mustard-produced track, which Lamar restarted twice and performed in full four times.
As Lamar moved energetically across the stage in a red hoodie, he was surrounded by NBA stars Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan, Mustard, rapper Roddy Ricch, and a teenage dance troupe led by krumping pioneer Tommy the Clown.
Embracing the moment, Lamar declared, “Y’all ain’t gon’ let nobody disrespect the West Coast. Y’all ain’t gon’ let nobody imitate our legends, huh,” a reference to Drake’s use of AI to replicate 2Pac’s voice on one of his diss tracks.
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Lamar then invited specific individuals to join him on stage for a group photo, emphasising unity. “Let the world see this,” he said. “For all of us to be on this stage together, unity, from East side … LA, Crips, Bloods, Piru — this … is special, man. We put this … together just for ya’ll. This … ain’t got nothing to do with no song at this point, ain’t got nothing to do with no back and forth records, it’s got everything to do with this moment right here. That’s what this … was about, to bring all of us together.”
Concluding his performance, Lamar assured the crowd, “I promise you this won’t be the last of us.” As the “Not Like Us” instrumental played once more, the audience continued rapping the lyrics even as they exited the venue.
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