Kendrick Lamar unites the West (and the rest) with repeated Drake disses

Kendrick brought a stunning number of rappers and other artists together at his "Pop Out" concert in Los Angeles last night

By Emma Keates | June 20, 2024 | 3:23pm

Aux News Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar unites the West (and the rest) with repeated Drake disses

Kendrick Lamar Photo: Jason Koerner

A decade from now, people will be bragging about being in the room for Kendrick Lamar’s “The Pop Out: Ken and Friends” concert as much as they currently do with Live Aid. We really can’t say it better than Twitter/X user, Mike Beauvais, who was one of the many folks reveling in the unprecedented celebration of unity, art, and good old fashion haterism that Lamar curated during his Juneteenth show last night: “This is like ‘We Are the World’ but for hating a guy.”

Lamar performed his No. 1 hit “Not Like Us” not once, not twice, but six times in a row during the L.A. show, which was simultaneously live-streamed on Twitch and Prime Video. For this first, which was prompted by Dr. Dre delivering his “I see dead people” opening in the flesh, Lamar let the 17,000-person crowd—which included The Weeknd, LeBron James, Ayo Edebiri, Rick Ross, and more (via AP)—revel in screaming his instantly iconic “probably A minor” line. Then he started over and did it again. And again.

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With each new round, the crowd got louder and the stage got more crowded. Lamar brought a truly illustrious group of artists onstage to celebrate his win with him, many of whom had performed their own tracks earlier in the evening. Those names included Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and ScHoolboy Q (the non-Kendrick members of Black Hippy), YG, Steve Lacy, Big Boy, G Perico, DJ Mustard (of the beat), krumper Tommy the Clown, L.A. Clippers player Russell Westbrook, and Chicago Bull DeMar DeRozan.

But that wasn’t all. Lamar also invited members of every major L.A. gang to come together onstage to dance and take a massive group photo in a show of West Coast pride. “Y’all ain’t gon’ let nobody disrespect the West Coast. Y’all ain’t gon’ let nobody imitate our legends, huh,” he said, referencing Drake’s use of an AI-generated 2Pac voice on one of his songs (via AP). “Let the world see this… For all of us to be on this stage together, this is unity… 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.”

While Drake packs up to move out of North America altogether (what else can he really do at this point), “Pop Out” also proved that the scene certainly doesn’t need him to thrive. Before taking the stage to perform his “Not Like Us” run, as well as other feud and non-feud-related hits like “Euphoria” (with a new line!), “Alright,” “m.A.A.d city,” “HUMBLE.,” “Money Trees,” and “King’s Dead” with Jay Rock, Lamar ceded the venue to fellow artists like Tyler, the Creator, YG, Roddy Ricch, Ty Dolla $ign, Dom Kennedy and Steve Lacy.

Unfortunately, there was one stain on the event. Multiple people expressed their frustration with Lamar for including Dre in the proceedings, considering allegations that he has been physically abusive to television host Dee Barnes and other women throughout his career. In general, however, the show of unity was the prevailing story of the night. “Everybody got fallen sons but we’re right here, right now celebrating all of them, this shit is special,” Lamar declared from the stage. “We put this together with peace… I promise this won’t be the last of us.”