Kendrick Lamar unified the West Coast together with his epic Pop Out: Ken & Associates live performance celebrating Juneteenth on Wednesday night time (June 19), which was one for the hip-hop historical past books with Ok. Dot performing his Drake diss monitor “Not Like Us” 5 instances in a row to shut out the present.
After performing the reside debut of his nuclear visitor verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That,” Ok. Dot welcomed his mentor and iconic West Coast rapper Dr. Dre to the Kia Discussion board in Inglewood, Calif., as he rose from beneath the stage for one of many greatest surprises of the night time. “I see lifeless individuals,” Dre whispered as Mustard’s signature Cali bounce on “Not Like Us” blared by the audio system.
In a purple hoodie with denims and a pair of Nike Shox (an outfit some followers in comparison with 2Pac‘s on the 1994 Supply Awards), Kendrick had the 18,000-plus in attendance and rap world watching through Amazon Music at residence within the palm of his hand.
The raucous crowd sang alongside to each final phrase of the “Not Like Us” reside debut. They held the “A-minor” Drake punchline for what appeared like an eternity whereas Lamar basked in what he curated.
However that wasn’t all. Kendrick ran the Drake kill shot again a second time and spun the block for a 3rd spherical of “Not Like Us.” The fourth version was probably the most particular, as Ok. Dot proved West Coast unity about 15 miles northwest of the place the Compton native grew up, whereas bringing numerous L.A. luminaries akin to NBA stars DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook on stage, who basically danced on Drake’s figurative grave.
Mustard, G Perico, Hit-Boy, Blxst, Steve Lacy, Large Boy, Westside Boogie and Lamar’s Black Hippy operating mates joined the social gathering alongside different gang members repping totally different units throughout Los Angeles. Every took a flip dapping up Kenny on stage as he saved his breath management intact amid the distractions.
“This s–t making me emotional,” Lamar admitted whereas gathering the blended crew for a gaggle picture second that he wished might final eternally “We been f—ked up since Nipsey died. We been f—ked up since Kobe [Bryant] died,” he poignantly declared. “That is unity at it’s best.”
“Not Like Us” wasn’t the one Drake diss carried out by Lamar for the primary time as a part of his explosive set. He kicked issues off with the bristling “Euphoria,” which discovered him tweaking a lyric directed on the 6 God. “Give me 2Pac’s ring again and I would provide you with just a little respect,” he spewed. Lamar additionally introduced out Ab-Soul to carry out his verse on “6:16 in L.A.” combined into his run of best hits.
“Not Like Us” gave Kendrick his fourth Scorching 100 chief because it debuted atop the all-genre chart on Might 13 with over 70 million streams within the first week. The West Coast anthem sits at No. 6 in its sixth week on the Scorching 100 whereas “Euphoria” holds at No. 47.
Whereas gang violence and road politics have lower lives method too brief, Kendrick Lamar united a metropolis for one night time the place territory allegiances and banging units didn’t matter within the identify of hip-hop. “It ain’t obtained nothing to do with no back-and-forth data,” Kendrick mentioned, dismissing his Drake feud. “It’s obtained all the pieces to do with this second proper right here. That’s what this s–t was about. To convey all of us collectively.”
Discover extra highlights from Kendrick’s memorable “Not Like Us” efficiency under.
