After Drake battle, Kendrick Lamar concert celebrates Los Angeles unity

Not content material with merely taking a victory lap after successful his battle towards fellow rap celebrity Drake, Kendrick Lamar turned his Juneteenth Pop Out live performance on the Discussion board right into a cathartic livestreamed celebration of Los Angeles unity.

Lamar curated a three-hour live performance that includes a mixture of up-and-coming L.A. rappers and stars together with Tyler, The Creator, Steve Lacy and YG.

When it was his flip to take the stage, the 37-year-old rapper powered by means of a set with Black Hippy collaborators Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock, carried out his Drake diss songs Euphoria and 6:16 in LA, then was joined on stage by Dr. Dre.

The 2 West Coast titans carried out Nonetheless D.R.E. and California Love earlier than Dre quieted the roaring crowd by calling for a second of silence. It was a misdirect. He then delivered the Sixth Sense quote that opens Lamar’s chart-topping Not Like Us: “I see useless individuals.”

A crowd of 17,000 that included The Weeknd, LeBron James, Ayo Edebiri and Rick Ross rapped alongside to each phrase of the biting-but-jubilant DJ Mustard manufacturing, which Lamar restarted twice after the primary verse and carried out 4 instances in full.

Shuffling, frolicking, dancing and spinning round him as Lamar strode the stage in a pink hoodie: NBA stars Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan, Mustard, rapper Roddy Ricch and even a teenage dance troupe led by the krumping innovator Tommy the Clown.

Lamar revelled within the second: “Y’all ain’t gon’ let no person disrespect the West Coast. Y’all ain’t gon’ let no person imitate our legends, huh,” he mentioned, referring to Drake’s use of an AI software to imitate 2Pac’s voice on one among his diss data.

However Lamar had extra on his thoughts, calling out to particular women and men to hitch him on stage for a bunch picture.

“Let the world see this,” he mentioned. “For all of us to be on this stage collectively, unity, from East facet … L.A., Crips, Bloods, Piru — this … is particular, man. We put this … collectively only for ya’ll.

“This … ain’t obtained nothing to do with no track at this level, ain’t obtained nothing to do with no forwards and backwards data, it is obtained every little thing to do with this second proper right here. That is what this … was about, to deliver all of us collectively.”

After the ultimate track, Lamar exited, saying: “I promise you this would possibly not be the final of us.” The stabbing horns of the Not Like Us instrumental kicked in as soon as once more and the group rapped the lyrics with out Lamar as they filed by means of hallways out to the parking zone.