While fans expected a special guest or two during Kendrick Lamar’s Juneteenth concert, “Ken & Friends – The Pop Out,” it came as a surprise when the rapper brought 25 artists on stage.
Taking place at Los Angeles’ KIA Forum, the one-night-only show saw Lamar enlist a squad of his friends and collaborators, all of whom are from or currently based in LA. Among the mix were Tyler, the Creator, YG, Roddy Ricch, Ty Dolla $ign, Dom Kennedy and Steve Lacy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Zoe Osama, RJMRLA, OhGeesy, Jason Martin, Ray Vaughn, Cuzzos and Westside Boogie also appeared on the lineup.
DJ Mustard, who produced Lamar’s Drake diss “Not Like Us,” played a set, during which Lacy walked out. Dr. Dre was another name on the bill, performing “Still D.R.E” and his Tupac collaboration “California Love.” Lamar, meanwhile, revisited classics with performances of “DNA,” “Element,” “Swimming Pools” and “King Kunta.”
Elsewhere during the show, DJ Mustard paid homage to the late Nipsey Hussle with a moment of silence. Lamar also reunited with his fellow Black Hippy members: Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and ScHoolboy Q. Rock joined him for “Money Trees,” while Ab-Soul assisted with “6:16 in LA” and ScHoolboy Q with “Collard Greens.”
“Not Like Us” was performed five times in a row during the encore.
“Y’all ain’t gonna let anyone disrespect the West Coast, huh? Oh y’all ain’t gonna let nobody mock or imitate our legends, huh?” Lamar said in between renditions of the diss, per The Hollywood Reporter.
At the end of the concert, Lamar brought all 25 of the guest artists together, saying, “We put this together with peace…I promise this won’t be the last of us.”
History in the making. They not like us @kendricklamar pic.twitter.com/tMhNw94UVI
— Amazon Music (@amazonmusic) June 20, 2024
