Everything That Happened at Kendrick Lamar’s Juneteenth Concert

In his first reside efficiency since his beef with Drake, Kendrick Lamar took the stage in Los Angeles on Juneteenth in a historic, electrifying night crammed with particular company, exhilarated followers, and continued jabs at his arch-rival. 

The one-off live performance titled The Pop Out — Ken and Mates, introduced by pgLang and Free Lunch was jam-packed with a protracted line-up of artists, principally from L.A. and California, who carried out in Lamar’s hometown on the Kia Discussion board. From prime to backside, your entire occasion was a love letter to West Coast hip-hop tradition, together with a particular look from Dr. Dre himself.

Earlier than the doorways even opened for the extremely anticipated present, the gang was stimulated and inquisitive about what was to come back for the remainder of the night. Strains began forming across the venue on Wednesday morning, with folks wearing their very own personally designed merch.

The Pop Out, a nod to a lyric from Lamar’s hit single and diss monitor “Not Like Us,” bought out virtually instantly when tickets went on sale, an indicator that followers have been greater than hyped to witness Lamar on stage following his heightened sparring match with Drake. For many who weren’t fortunate sufficient to snag tickets to the precise occasion, the live performance additionally live-streamed on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch.

After spending over $1,500 on a pair of tickets, a father and son duo Damien and Dominic Camarena who’re each born and raised in Los Angeles stood in a line outdoors of The Discussion board beginning at 10:30 within the morning to see Lamar carry out. Standing within the mid-afternoon warmth earlier than the doorways opened, Dominic gushed, “I used to be actually younger once I acquired placed on to Kendrick. I used to be about 9 years previous, so simply being right here with my dad is actually particular as a result of I acquired placed on by him.”

It was already a celebration outdoors of The Discussion board previous to the live performance; whereas folks have been ready round, they have been in a position to hip up a number of merch stands, photograph ops, and meals and beverage stations. There was even a voter registration station, courtesy of HeadCount, encouraging concertgoers to ensure they’re all set to vote in November.

As soon as the lights went down near 4:30 pm PT, DJ Hed kicked off the night by introducing the gang to a slew of West Coast artists who every graced the stage for about one or two songs every. From Remble, Ray Vaughn, and Cuzzos, to Westside Boogie, Zoe Osama, Bino Rideaux, Ohgeesy, and Jason Martin, The Pop Out commenced with almost a dozen artists who all stem from California roots, setting the vibe for the remainder of the evening.

Hitmaker and L.A. native DJ Mustard, who produced the beat behind Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” delivered a set of his common songs and likewise introduced out iconic artists like Dom Kennedy, Tyler the Creator, YG, Ty Dolla $ign, Blxst, and Roddy Wealthy. To not point out, Mustard performed a trio of Nipsey Hussle tracks in honor of the late L.A. rapper and impressed everybody to boost their telephones and switch their digital camera lights on.