The fervor around Kendrick Lamar and Drake's feud was renewed Wednesday after Lamar performed several of his diss tracks against the Canadian rapper during his concert "The Pop Out: Ken and Friends."
Lamar hosted “The Pop Out,” a one-night-only concert held at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, on Juneteenth. The name references a line in his No. 1 Drake diss track "Not Like Us." The show was livestreamed on Amazon Music.
Mustard, the record producer who produced "Not Like Us," was one of the openers for the concert alongside DJ Hed. Special guests throughout the show included Tyler, the Creator; Steve Lacy; Roddy Ricch; Dr. Dre; and more. Lamar also reunited his supergroup Black Hippy, a collective of rappers that included Lamar, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and ScHoolboy Q.
"The Pop Out" was the first time Lamar played his recent diss tracks against Drake live. Lamar opened with “Euphoria” and ended the show by playing “Not Like Us” six times, one of which was an instrumental.
He also performed his verse on "Like That" and the song "6:16 in LA." Lamar did not perform "meet the grahams," which some fans consider the most serious of his disses against Drake.
The two rappers were embroiled in a rap battle for over a month, resulting in nine total diss tracks between the artists. Fans took sides in the rivalry and debated who won the beef. For many rap enthusiasts, “The Pop Out” appeared to be a “victory lap” for Lamar.
Fans were impressed by the various encores of "Not Like Us." "SIX TIMES" trended on X following the concert's conclusion.
During the second performance, the audience appeared to rap most of the song. Lamar also brought out various performers and friends to join him onstage during the fourth and fifth plays of the track, including producer Mustard, rapper YG, singer Lacy and basketball players DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook, among others.
Beyond the rap beef, the show was considered a tribute to West Coast hip-hop and Los Angeles.
Lamar shouted out the late Los Angeles icons rapper Nipsey Hussle and basketball player Kobe Bryant. He brought out rappers, performers and others who worked on the show who come from different parts of Los Angeles on the stage for a group photo.
"Let the world see this," he said during the concert. "You ain't seen this many sections on one stage keeping it together and having peace."
He ended the concert with a call of "unity."
"We done lost a lot, a lot, of homies to this music s---, a lot of homies to some street s---," he said during the concert. "And for all of us to be on this stage together, unity from each side of motherf------ L.A. ... this s--- is special, man."
Lamar said the concert had nothing to do with any song or "back-and-forth records." Instead, he said it was about bringing everyone together.
After joining his crew for a fifth rendition of "Not Like Us," Lamar concluded the show by thanking the crowd.
"I promise you this won't be the last of us," he said, the "Not Like Us" instrumental playing for a final time as he departed.
