Kenaissance. Gangchella. Woppapalooza.
Whatever you call it, you will always remember where you were when it happened. On Wednesday night, Kendrick THEE Lamar made magic at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles as he brought the meaning of California Love to life for an unforgettable Juneteenth celebration of people, power, and yes, even pettiness. The concert, appropriately named “The Pop-Out: Ken and Friends“ was live-streamed on Amazon’s Prime Video. The streaming service’s Black Music Month campaign entitled “Forever the Influence” honors Black musicians, producers, and composers for their efforts of cultural shapeshifting. The campaign originally included “The Pop Out”, but the recent back and forth between Lamar and fellow rapper Drake only escalated the excitement around the impromptu event and the engagement with its listeners and viewers. “The Pop Out” consisted of three segments, DJ Hed and Friends, Mustard and Friends, and Ken and Friends.
Kendrick kicked in the door waving the “four-four” as he started the show with “Euphoria”, which was his first response after Drake initially called him out to bait him into responding to what has become one of the greatest rap beefs in hip hop history. Kendrick’s set list included some of his chart-topping hits such as “Alright”, “Swimming Pools”, and “Money Trees” bringing out special guests including but not limited to Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and the one and only Dr. Dre, who performed the west coast anthem “California Love” as an introduction to a SIX TIME ENCORE performance of Kendrick’s “Not Like Us.” Yes, you read that correctly…..SIX. Before all of this exploded into Word War Three, Lamar was probably somewhere at home minding his business, lighting some incense, and getting his hair retwisted on someone’s living room floor. Then Drake said, “Kendrick where you at?” And it has been complete and utter chaos in these rap streets ever since.
Many layers went into making this an unprecedented production, one being the live editing that should be nominated for an Emmy, but also the star-studded attendees who showed up and showed out in support of Kendrick, Cali, and The Bay. Lebron and Savannah James, Rick Ross, James Harden, The Weeknd, and SZA were just some of the names in attendance at the Kia Forum for “The Pop Out”. However, Russell Westbrook stole the show when he hopped on stage to join the entourage of LA natives, radiating Black Boy Joy and dancing his little heart out with the biggest smile on his face. It also didn’t go unnoticed that Demar DeRozan, who has been noted in the past to be a close friend of Drake’s, was also in that entourage on stage having the time of his life. Before we knew it, the stage was PACKED, but not in the 1995 Source Awards “Somebody call security!!” kind of way. It was non-chaotic chaos transformed into a hip-hop homecoming family reunion so inescapable that even if you’ve never been to California, we all were from the West Coast that night. Crips and Bloods were do-si-do-ing together on stage like line brothers at probate in an unrivaled street unity that could only be ushered in by a beef greater than their own. According to DJ Hed, no one even knew that Kendrick was going to perform “Not Like Us” so many times or that it would result in one of the most iconic group photos that honestly, belongs in the Louvre, or at minimum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture. “That was not on the set list,” Hed said. “We had just finished our sets and while Dot was on stage, they were just hitting everybody like, ‘Yo, Dot wants everybody to stay. Stay right here, everybody stay right here. Dot wants us to come on the stage at the end of the show.’ And we’re like, OK, like if that’s what Dot wants, then we’ll come on stage. We had no idea. We all found out pretty much when y’all found out.”
We can subjectively discuss our favorite diss tracks and rap beef in an attempt to rank them according to lyricism, punchlines, and overall impact, but whether you’re pulling for “Hit Em Up” or “Ether” I think we can all agree that we have never seen anything like the contagious energy of “Not Like Us” and the genre-bending effects it has had on a variety of demographics and overall pop culture worldwide. It has been hard to tell whether communities are coming together in hate of Drake or support of Kendrick, or just the overall excitement of artist rivalry, but whatever the reason, Kendrick Lamar has single-handedly shifted the trajectory of hip-hop beef and raised the bar on the standard of rap diss tracks. And the momentum doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. “Not Like Us” debuted at No. 1, is currently at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 after six total weeks on the chart, and Kendrick and Mustard have officially filmed the music video in Compton as of Saturday. The streets are also saying that they would like to see more live-streamed “surprise” concerts with similar “Beychella” and “The Pop Out” vibes because it makes culture-changing moments more accessible to those who don’t have the patience or the paper to deal with the rigmarole of Ticketmaster or Live Nation, giving a more intimate and exclusive experience to those of us at home.
You don’t have to be a hip-hop head to appreciate the impact of “The Pop Out”, or the creative conflict between two of the biggest rap names of this generation. But you must respect the game. Because these are the moments that make up the fabric of our culture. These are the experiences we will never forget. These are the stories we will tell our grandchildren.
