Kendrick Lamar gave the fans what they wanted, and more. The Compton rapper's Pop Out show debuted in June at The Forum in Inglewood, but was streamed worldwide via Amazon Prime, bringing his Los Angeles vibes and Drake swagger to the world.
Titled The Pop Out: Ken & Friends Concert, the star-studded cameos did not disappoint. Tyler, The Creator, YG and even the good Dr. Dre were just several of his high profile guests. And really, you knew you were in for a moment when Kendrick kicked off his set by performing “Euphoria,” which the crowd seemed to know word for word.
K. Dot belted out fan favorites like “King Kunta” and “Be Alright,” but the guest artists who really got the crowd going were his Black Hippy crew featuring Jay Rock, who performed ” Money Trees,” Ab-Soul and ScHoolboy Q, who performed “Collard Greens.”
But the best was saved for last, with Kendrick Lamar asking Dr. Dre (who performed “California Love”) to do him one last favor before leaving the stage, and that was to start the DJ Mustard-produced Drake track. “Not like us.”
K-Dot proceeded to run the song back a smooth five times (six if you count it playing when he finally left the stage_), with the crowd, and certainly the home crowd as well, rapping along bar for bar. As expected , “The A-minor Line” was a crowd favorite, with Kendrick just letting the space hold the moment the first time and mimicking Neo's famous move from The Matrix the second time.
However, the truly epic moment was Kendrick inviting various rappers on stage who performed different Crips and Bloods sets, as well as NBA stars Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan, “That doesn't make me emotional. they've been fighting us since Nipsey died,” Kendrick said. “We've been teased since Kobe died.”
If you know anything about LA gang culture, you know that Kendrick made it and keeping the peace was important. The moment was captured in an epic photo and encapsulates the influence Kendrick Lamar has on culture.
Check out the reactions to Kendrick Lamar's Pop Up show, which continued to trend for hours after it ended, in the gallery.