Kendrick Lamar Popped Out And Showed The World How L.A. Unifies The Culture
The West Coast, specifically Los Angeles, got something to say, and that was proven on Juneteenth (June 19) at Kendrick Lamar’s The Pop Out.
The concert was held at the Kia Forum in the heart of Inglewood. People pulled up in droves early to be present and on time for what would become a historic moment in music, Hip-Hop, and for the culture.
“Tonight is a celebration of what makes the left coast the best coast […] and the unification of the west,” E-40 narrated as the show began. Divided into three acts, DJ Hed commanded the crowd first and brought out special guests: Remble, Ray Vaughn, Cuzzos, Rucci, AzChike, Jay Worthy & Meet The Whoops, Wallie The Sensei, Westside Boogie, Zoe Osama, Kalan.FrFr, G. Perico, Bino Rideaux, BlueBucksClan, RJMrLA, Ohgeesy, JasonMartin (formerly known as Problem), and the legendary Tommy The Clown with his T-Squad.
Even though each act seemingly performed one song in an effort to remain on schedule, the crowd’s energy was already on high as they awaited K. Dot’s set.
Mustard pulled up to the scene ready to party. He cascaded through his catalog of hits including Tyga’s “Rack City,” 2 Chainz’s “I’m Different,” Kid Ink and Chris Brown’s “Show Me,” and Big Sean’s “I Don’t F**k With You” before being joined by the likes of 310babii, Blxst, Ty Dolla $ign, Roddy Ricch, and Steve Lacy.
For the first time, the famed producer and Dom Kennedy performed his cult classic, “When I Come Around.” Not to mention, the crowd went berserk when Tyler, The Creator popped out. Of the moment, the rapper tweeted, “It was beautiful to see the whole city come together last night. My first raps were written at home off Crenshaw Dr and 82nd, right down the street from the Forum. Thank you. Shoutout FREE LUNCH.”
Mustard took a moment to pay tribute to the late Nipsey Hussle before YG took the stage, closing out act two.
The crowd was chanting “OVH*E” before the arena went dark and Kendrick took the stage. As predicted by fans on Twitter, he kicked off his almost 90-minute performance with an altered version of his diss track, “euphoria.” Kung Fu Kenny added the line, “Give me Tupac’s ring back and I might give you a little respect,” which was in direct reference to Drake buying Pac’s custom crown ring in a recent auction.
Kendrick also rocked a fit that was eerily similar to Pac’s look from the 1994 Source Awards.
As he went through his discography in reverse, going from 2017’s DAMN. with “DNA.” and “ELEMENT.” to 2015’s To Pimp A Butterfly with “Alright,” he then nested in the commemoration of 2012’s good kid, m.A.A.d city.
K. Dot first brought out Jay Rock for “Money Trees” and “Win” before Schoolboy Q popped up for “Collard Greens” and “That Part.” Ab-Soul appeared last to complete the long-awaited Black Hippy reunion and Hip-Hop fans everywhere rejoiced.
Dr. Dre was the last, formal guest to pop out as he performed “Still D.R.E.” and “California Love.” The Compton native introduced the final song of the night—the highly-anticipated “Not Like Us,” which Kendrick performed six times.
He restarted the track three times after finishing the first verse, “Why you trollin’ like a b***h? Ain’t you tired? Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.”
At one point, he was joined by dancer Storm DeBarge and choreographer Charm La’Donna. Arguably, the best part of Kenny’s set wasn’t the five-peat of this diss record, but the gang unification. “At this point it ain’t got nothing to do with a song. It ain’t nothing to do with any back-and-forth record. This is what it’s about.”
Kendrick declared, “This s**t making me emotional. We been f**ked up since Nipsey died. We been f**ked up since Kobe died. Let the world see this.”
Not only did Kendrick unite different sets onstage, but it felt like all of Hollywood pulled up to celebrate him. Celebrity attendees included Rick Ross, James Harden, Chika, Kayla Nicole, LeBron and Savannah James, Chl?e, The Weeknd, Malcolm Mays, Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan, and more.
All-in-all, Kendrick turned Juneteenth 2024 into a cultural reunion, which hasn’t happened since Jadakiss performed “New York” at The Lox/Dipset VERZUZ in August 2021. Not only did the Pulitzer Prize winner take the crown in this rap battle, he reminded the world why Los Angeles Hip-Hop is essential to music, culture, and beyond. For that alone, we all won.
Check out more reactions below and snippets from his performance below.
More from VIBE.com
Solve the daily Crossword
