Current:Home > Contact-usAfter Drake battle, Kendrick Lamar turns victory lap concert into LA unity celebration-InfoLens
After Drake battle, Kendrick Lamar turns victory lap concert into LA unity celebration
View Date:2024-12-23 14:16:54
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Not content with merely taking a victory lap after winning his battle against fellow rap superstar Drake, Kendrick Lamar turned his Juneteenth “Pop Out” concert at the Forum into a cathartic livestreamed celebration of Los Angeles unity.
Lamar curated a three-hour concert featuring a mix of up-and-coming LA rappers and stars including Tyler, The Creator, Steve Lacy and YG. When it was his turn to take the stage, the 37-year-old rapper powered through a set with Black Hippy collaborators Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock, performed his Drake diss songs “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA,” then was joined on-stage by Dr. Dre.
The two West Coast titans performed “Still D.R.E.” and “California Love” before Dre quieted the roaring crowd by calling for a moment of silence. It was a misdirect. He then delivered the “Sixth Sense” quote that opens Lamar’s chart-topping “Not Like Us”: “I see dead people.”
A crowd of 17,000 that included The Weeknd, LeBron James, Ayo Edebiri and Rick Ross rapped along to every word of the biting-but-jubilant DJ Mustard production, which Lamar restarted twice after the first verse and performed four times in full.
Shuffling, frolicking, dancing and spinning around him as Lamar strode the stage in a red 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 reveled in the moment: “Y’all ain’t gon’ let nobody disrespect the West Coast. Y’all ain’t gon’ let nobody imitate our legends, huh,” he said, referring to Drake’s use of an AI tool to mimic 2Pac’s voice on one of his diss records.
But Lamar had more on his mind, calling out to specific men and women to join him on-stage for a group photo.
“Let the world see this,” he said. “For all of us to be on this stage together, unity, from East side ... LA, Crips, Bloods, Piru — this ... is special, man. We put this ... together just for ya’ll.
“This ... ain’t got nothing to do with no song at this point, ain’t got nothing to do with no back and forth records, it’s got everything to do with this moment right here. That’s what this ... was about, to bring all of us together.”
After the final song, Lamar exited, saying “I promise you this won’t be the last of us.” The stabbing horns of the “Not Like Us” instrumental kicked in once again and the crowd rapped the lyrics without Lamar as they filed through hallways out to the parking lot.
veryGood! (9695)
Related
- Mother of Man Found Dead in Tanning Bed at Planet Fitness Gym Details His Final Moments
- Johnny Depp Is Dating Model Yulia Vlasova
- Kathy Willens, pathbreaking Associated Press photographer who captured sports and more, dies at 74
- Bertram Charlton: Active or passive investing?
- Deommodore Lenoir contract details: 49ers ink DB to $92 million extension
- More than 2 dozen human skeletons dating back more than 1,000 years found in hotel garden
- Tom Fenton, former CBS News correspondent, dies at age 94
- Amber Rose slams Joy Reid for criticizing RNC speech: 'Stop being a race baiter'
- Prosecutors say some erroneous evidence was given jurors at ex-Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial
- Peter Courtney, Oregon’s longest-serving state lawmaker, dies at 81
Ranking
- Should Georgia bench Carson Beck with CFP at stake against Tennessee? That's not happening
- Webcam monitors hundreds of rattlesnakes at a Colorado ‘mega den’ for citizen science
- In Alabama’s Bald Eagle Territory, Residents Say an Unexpected Mining Operation Emerged as Independence Day Unfolded
- Trade Brandon Aiyuk? Five reasons why the San Francisco 49ers shouldn't do it
- NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Bobby Allison dies at 86
- Get 46% Off the Viral Revlon Heated Brush That Dries and Styles Hair at the Same Time
- Moon caves? New discovery offers possible shelter for future explorers
- Kennedy apologizes after a video of him speaking to Trump leaks
Recommendation
-
Trump's election has women swearing off sex with men. It's called the 4B movement.
-
Tom Fenton, former CBS News correspondent, dies at age 94
-
Get 46% Off the Viral Revlon Heated Brush That Dries and Styles Hair at the Same Time
-
Walmart is opening pizza restaurants in four states. Here's what you need to know.
-
What Republicans are saying about Matt Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general
-
Ingrid Andress says she was drunk, going to rehab after National Anthem at the MLB Home Run Derby
-
Don't Miss the Floss-ome 50% Discount on Waterpik Water Flossers This Amazon Prime Day
-
Zenith Asset Investment Education Foundation: Empowering Investors Worldwide