For Kendrick Lamar, “The Pop Out — Ken & Friends” show on Juneteenth was less about Drake, less about putting the final nail in the coffin of a simmering rap feud and more about celebrating Los Angeles and its influence on rap culture as a whole — namely because “they not like us.”
As the Pulitzer Prize winner rapped those lyrics from his undeniable hit “Not Like Us,” a total of five times (his first time doing so), several of his peers hopped on the Kia Forum stage to rap along with him enthusiastically, c-walk to the beat and conclude the night with an epic group photo of L.A. legends. Some of the people on stage included DJ Mustard (who produced the record), Black Hippy (Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q), Compton rapper YG, L.A. Clipper Russell Westbrook, singer Steve Lacy, radio host Big Boy, Tommy the Clown (along his talented crew of child krumpers), choreographer Charm La’Donna and allegedly members of every gang in L.A.
“This s—t gets me emotional,” Lamar said. “We done lost a lot a lot of homies to this music s—t. A lot of homies to some street s—t and for all of us to be on this stage together; unity from each side of motherf—king L.A., crips, bloods, pirus — this s—t is special man.”
He added, “We put this s—t together just for y’all.”
Lamar announced his “The Pop Out — Ken & Friends” show, which was produced with his label/creative agency pgLang and Free Lunch on June 5, just days after organizers of the annual Leimert Park Juneteenth Festival in South L.A. — where thousands of Black Angelenos have been congregating on the special holiday for several years — announced that it was canceled due to costs and safety concerns. The historic performance also came roughly a month after Lamar’s vicious rap beef with Drake in which he was deemed the winner by Internet scorekeepers.
Real 92.3’s DJ Hed was first to take the stage around 4:20 p.m., bringing out a number of guest performers including Kalan.FrFr, Westside Boogie and Cuzzos (a girl rap group) and Tommy the Clown along with his group of krumping, child dancers.
Next up was Grammy-winning producer, DJ Mustard, who also welcomed several of his collaborators and friends to the stage including Blxst, Ty Dolla $ign, Dom Kennedy, Roddy Ricch, recent high school graduate 310Babii, and Tyler, the Creator. He also made a dedication to late rapper, Nipsey Hussle, during his DJ set.
Throughout the intermissions between sets, the crowd chanted the lyric “OVHOE,” one of the catchiest in a long line of memorable lines at the end of “Not Like Us.”
Following a recorded introduction from rapper E-40, Lamar emerged from the stage and opened his set with his Drake diss track, “Euphoria,” as a bright red light shined on him. His hawk-eyed fans wasted no time to post on social media that he’d added a new bar to the song: “Give me Tupac’s ring back, and I might give you a little respect.”
Lamar went onto performing some of his older tracks including “DNA,” “Element” and “Alright,” all of which carried a different weight following the Drake beef. But one of the best moments during the show was undoubtedly when Lamar reunited with Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul on stage to perform “King’s Dead.”
After Lamar performed his verse from Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That,” he brought out Dr. Dre — his longtime mentor and collaborator — to perform his classic hits “Still D.R.E.” and “California Love.” Before he left the stage, Dre helped introduced Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” by saying the intro “I see dead people,” and the crowd exploded.
Lamar ran through “Not Like Us” a total of five times — not including a sixth time which was just the instrumental — and paused at the unforgettable lyric “A minorrrrrrrrrrr,” which he and the audience held for an extended period of time. (This moment felt like Lamar’s version of Kanye and Jay-Z’s “N—as in Paris” or Beyoncé’s mute challenge.)
Of the more than dozen performers, it was most surprising that Lamar’s cousin and label mate, Baby Keem, didn’t make a guest appearance at the show.
Although “The Pop Out — Ken & Friends” show was undoubtedly a final victory lap for Lamar, he made it clear throughout that this event was much bigger than him or any rap beef. It’s always been about elevating the culture, unifying people and putting on for his city — and that will never change.
In the parking lot many audience members saw the show as a historic moment not only for music but for the celebration of hip hop and Black LA.
“It’s a cultural moment,” Stacy Aneke, 25, of Ontario, adding that he wanted to celebrate with the “winning team,” referring to Kendrick of course.
“There’s 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,” fan Omarri Veck, 24 said.
