Thousands of Kendrick Lamar fans from across the country congregated Wednesday afternoon at the Forum in Inglewood for the hometown rapperās only recently announced āThe Pop Out ā Ken & Friendsā show, which took place roughly one month after his epic rap feud with Drake.
The concert, which was held on Juneteenth (an annual commemoration of the day in 1865 in which enslaved African Americans in Texas were told they were free), featured lively performances from dozens of L.A. artists including DJ Mustard, Ty Dolla Sign, Blxst, Steve Lacy, Westside Boogie, Dom Kennedy, RJMrLA, Tommy the Clown (along with his talented crew of child krumpers) and Tyler, the Creator. Lamar also surprised fans with a Black Hippy reunion by bringing Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q to the stage.
While many of Lamarās supporters came to experience his Drake diss records ā āNot Like Usā and āEuphoriaā ā performed live for the first time, others thought of the concert as the best way to celebrate Juneteenth, given the topics that Lamar regularly discusses in his music.
Before the event, we spoke to fans in the parking lot about why they wanted to attend the show, how Lamarās music embodies the spirit of Juneteenth and why the event was a significant cultural moment in hip-hop history. Their responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Daja Heard, Omarri Beck, Christian Johnson, Parlet Cooper of L.A.
āThereās nobody, honestly, better than Lamar to bring out the community who actually know the history and purpose of Juneteenth and to get people more aware of Juneteenth and its importance.ā ā Omarri Veck, 24, of Los Angeles
āThereās been community representation, but hip-hop icon has taken Juneteenth as their celebration date and utilized it for something that speaks for the community. Itās not for a tour or nothing like that ā this is for the city.ā ā Christian Johnson, 35, of Los Angeles
Robert Harris of Anaheim
āKendrick has been a very inspirational person in my life. Ever since I came out to this area, Iāve been listening to his music and itās been really touching. He always speaks to the people and for the people, so at the end of the day, itās just great to see him always show love back. Iāve been to pretty much, every single one of his concerts. This show is impacting the people. Itās bringing people together that were normally feuding. Itās bringing good energy. Itās not even about hate and love, itās actually just all about good vibes. And for Kendrick to do that, I celebrate him because heās the man ā he runs hip-hop. We all know that.ā ā Robert Harris, 34, of Anaheim
Porsche Johnson of Compton
āItās a moment because I mean, itās Kendrick and āNot Like Usā is definitely an anthem right now. Even with other races being here, they are acknowledging us like how we do Cinco de Mayo ā we celebrate everybody. Now itās everybody celebrating us, and the fact that so many people came out for him to do this is what made it big.ā ā Porsche Johnson, 38, Compton
Pennelope Gonzalez and Johnny āRaydeoworldā Feliz of New York
āWe wanted to be here because of the fact that he knows that he is the embodiment of culture. We feel like he understands what we go through… Heās like the best person to voice that out and lead that, and I feel like weāve needing a leader in hip-hop who advocates for the right thing we should all follow and do. It just felt right to celebrate Juneteenth with him. He just made sense because heās all about culture. We had to come here.ā ā Johnny āRaydeoworldā Feliz, 26 of New York
āFor me, I just love Kendrick based on what I feel like he represents. [Feliz] inspired me to actually put Compton Cowboys and pgLang [on my fit]. I personally like Kendrick in this photo [from his āMr. Morale and the Big Steppersā album]. Iāve never seen him so relaxed, but so elegant at the same time, so I wanted a photo that represented a photo that represents this holiday specifically. It took me two days to make it.ā ā Pennelope Gonzalez, 21
Stacy Aneke of Ontario, Calif.
āWith this being Kendrickās first performance in a long time, being able to experience āNot Like Usā in person, I had to be here. … I obviously think he won the beef, so thatās why itās a cultural moment. Just being able to be a part of the āwinning team.ā ā Stacy Aneke, 25, of Ontario
Drew Bosompem of New Jersey and Chioma Nwana of New York
āItās the two biggest rappers going at it,ā said Drew Bosompem, 29, of New Jersey. āI feel like itās something that people have been waiting for.ā
Lauren and Lawrence Wolfeland of L.A.
āWeāve always been Kendrick fans, but with this whole thing that happened within the past month, I feel like he literally spoke up for the culture and pointed things out and was like āLook yāall. Look.ā We all know the whole history of us always being taken advantage of and somebody being like āI want some of that,ā and here you got somebody who kind of looks like us kind of doing the same thing, and we got to be like āYo! Hey.ā And right before we have our own big celebration, itās just perfect like letās not only celebrate someone who weāre a fan of, but for what he just spoke about. Letās come together and recognize that about ourselves and keep an eye out for things to come.ā ā Lauren Wolfeland, 40
āHe unified L.A., the coast, hip-hop and then to have it on Juneteenth, our freedom day, thatās a big deal. ā Lawrence Wolfeland, 43 of Los Angeles
See more shots of K.Dot fans from the Forum parking lot below: