Photo: Amazon Music/Twitch
The Pop Out: Ken and Friends was about many things. Celebrating Los Angeles. Coming together in a display of peace and unity. And also hating Drake. The show, produced by Amazon and streamed live on Twitch, built to a fascinating crescendo. As members of LA’s various gangs took the stage, Kendrick performed “Not Like Us” six times in a row. Well, once was instrumental and came after a group photo. Here’s everything that went down.
Kendrick offered a Whitman’s Sampler of his Drake diss tracks. He opened the show with “Euphoria.” He added the line “Give me Tupac’s ring back and I might give you a little respect,” he said. Besides “Euphoria” and “Not Like Us,” Lamar performed “6:16 in LA” and “Like That” during The Pop Out.
Audiences went wild when Jay Rock joined Lamar on stage for “Money Trees.” Then Ab-Soul came out. Then Schoolboy Q came out. It was a full Black Hippy reunion, and the supergroup performed “King’s Dead” all together for the first time since 2018.
Dr. Dre came out to Inglewood to do his songs “Still D.R.E.” and “California Love.” He also helped out on the first playthru of “Not Like Us.” That’s gotta hurt, Drake. Dre kicked the song off with the “I see dead people line,” and the crowd went wild.
Kendrick did “Not Like Us” again and again and again (and then two more again’s). After the show concluded, “SIX TIMES” was trending on Twitter. The stage got more and more crowded as the song repeated. Lamar was reportedly joined by YG, Steve Lacy, all of Black Hippy, Big Boy, G Perico, Mustard (who you may recognize from being on the beat), LA Clipper Russell Westbrook, Chicago Bull Demar Derozan, krumper Tommy the Clown, and members of every major gang in Los Angeles. While taking the concert-ending group photo, Kendrick insisted this moment was about way more than just rap beef. He shouted out Nipsey Hussle and Kobe Bryant, and said everyone on stage has lost someone to violence, and that they were here today to represent a unified LA. Then the “Not Like Us” instrumental came back on.
