Source: Amazon Music / Amazon Music
Kendrick Lamar gave fans everything they wished for and more. The Compton rapper’s Pop Out show went down on Juneteenth at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., but was streamed worldwide via Amazon Prime, bringing the Los Angeles vibes, and Drake slander, to the globe.
Billed as The Pop Out: Ken & Friends Concert, the star-studded cameos did not disappoint. Tyler, the Creator, YG and even the good Dr. Dre were just several of his high-profile guests. And really, you knew you were in for a time when Kendrick started his set by performing “Euphoria,” which the crowd seemed to know word for word.
K. Dot hit fan favorites like “King Kunta” and “Be Alright,” but the guest artists that really got the crowd going were from his home team Black Hippy contingent that includes Jay Rock, who performed “Money Trees,” Ab-Soul and ScHoolboy Q, who performed “Collard Greens.”
But the best was saved for last, with Kendrick Lamar asking Dr. Dre (who performed “California Love”) to do him one last favor before he left the stage, and that was to kick off the DJ Mustard-produced, Drake diss track “Not Like Us.”
K-Dot proceeded to run back the song a smooth fives times (six if you count it playing when he finally left the stage) with the crowd, and surely the home audience, too, rapping along bar for bar. As expected, the “A-minor” line was a crowd favorite, with Kendrick simply letting the venue hold the moment the first time and mimicking Neo’s fame bullet-time motion from The Matrix the second time. Wait, or was it…
However, the truly epic moment was Kendrick inviting various rappers who repped different sets of Crips and Bloods, as well as NBA stars Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan, onto the stage. “This sh*t making me emotional. We been f*cked up since Nipsey died,” said Kendrick. “We been f*cked up since Kobe died.”
If you know anything about LA gang culture, you know Kendrick pulling that off and keeping everything peace was major. The moment was captured in an epic photo and encapsulates the influence Kendrick Lamar has on culture.
Check out the reactions to Kendrick Lamar’s Pop Up show, that kept trending for hours after its conclusion, in the gallery.
