Kendrick Lamar unified the West Coast with his epic Pop Out: Ken & Friends concert celebrating Juneteenth on Wednesday night (June 19), which was one for the hip-hop history books with K. Dot performing his Drake diss track “Not Like Us” five times in a row to close out the show.
After performing the live debut of his nuclear guest verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That,” K. Dot welcomed his mentor and iconic West Coast rapper Dr. Dre to the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., as he rose from underneath the stage for one of the biggest surprises of the night. “I see dead people,” Dre whispered as Mustard’s signature Cali bounce on “Not Like Us” blared through the speakers.
In a red hoodie with jeans and a pair of Nike Shox (an outfit some fans compared to 2Pac‘s at the 1994 Source Awards), Kendrick had the 18,000-plus in attendance and rap world watching via Amazon Music at home in the palm of his hand.
The raucous crowd sang along to every last word of the “Not Like Us” live debut. They held the “A-minor” Drake punchline for what seemed like an eternity while Lamar basked in what he curated.
But that wasn’t all. Kendrick ran the Drake kill shot back a second time and spun the block for a third round of “Not Like Us.” The fourth edition was the most special, as K. Dot proved West Coast unity about 15 miles northwest of where the Compton native grew up, while bringing various L.A. luminaries such as NBA stars DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook on stage, who essentially danced on Drake’s figurative grave.
Mustard, G Perico, Hit-Boy, Blxst, Steve Lacy, Big Boy, Westside Boogie and Lamar’s Black Hippy running mates joined the party alongside other gang members repping different sets across Los Angeles. Each took a turn dapping up Kenny on stage as he kept his breath control intact amid the distractions.
“This s–t making me emotional,” Lamar admitted while gathering the blended crew for a group photo moment that he wished could last forever “We been f—ked up since Nipsey died. We been f—ked up since Kobe [Bryant] died,” he poignantly declared. “This is unity at it’s finest.”
“Not Like Us” wasn’t the only Drake diss performed by Lamar for the first time as part of his explosive set. He kicked things off with the bristling “Euphoria,” which found him tweaking a lyric directed at the 6 God. “Give me 2Pac’s ring back and I might give you a little respect,” he spewed. Lamar also brought out Ab-Soul to perform his verse on “6:16 in L.A.” mixed into his run of greatest hits.
“Not Like Us” gave Kendrick his fourth Hot 100 leader as it debuted atop the all-genre chart on May 13 with over 70 million streams in the first week. The West Coast anthem sits at No. 6 in its sixth week on the Hot 100 while “Euphoria” holds at No. 47.
While gang violence and street politics have cut lives way too short, Kendrick Lamar united a city for one night where territory allegiances and banging sets didn’t matter in the name of hip-hop. “It ain’t got nothing to do with no back-and-forth records,” Kendrick said, dismissing his Drake feud. “It’s got everything to do with this moment right here. That’s what this s–t was about. To bring all of us together.”
Find more highlights from Kendrick’s memorable “Not Like Us” performance below.
