In a second which will go down in rap historical past, Kendrick Lamar carried out his Drake-eviscerating hit “Not Like Us” for the primary time at his Juneteenth live performance, The Pop Out: Ken & Associates. The present passed off at Los Angeles’ Kia Discussion board and was introduced lower than two weeks prior. It was livestreamed on Twitch by Amazon Music.
Kendrick carried out the monitor 5 separate occasions, every extra explosive than the final. “Y’all ain’t gonna let no one disrespect the West Coast, huh?” Kendrick Lamar requested after holding out the oft-repeated “A Minor” lyric (a double entendre meant to mock Drake as Lamar accuses him of being sexually inappropriate with underaged ladies) within the first version. He largely let the gang lead the second, and for the third, there have been firey pyrotechnics, dancers, and a loud chant of the “O-V-Ho’” as he carried out the track to completion. The viewers demanded a fourth, for which most of the nights performers and different stars joined together with YG, Steve Lacy, Roddy Ricch, ScHoolboy Q and Clippers level guard Russell Westbrook. There have been dozens of individuals on stage as Kendrick rapped, danced, and dapped by means of them for a fifth time.
Lamar opened his set along with his first solo Drake diss on this spring’s beef, “Euphoria,” shrouded in purple lights, falling fireworks and smoke. He ultimately carried out his “Like That” verse that ignited the meat too. He additionally performed “DNA,” “Alright,” and “King Kunta.” Kendrick spent a lot of the present accompanied by former Prime Dawg Leisure label mates Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and ScHoolboy Q.
Really, a case might have been made for Kendrick Lamar conserving “Not Like Us” off the setlist. Although the live performance seemingly takes its identify from the “Not Like Us” lyric — “Generally you gotta come out and present niggas” — Kendrick has clearly already completed that over the course of 5 diss songs in his battle with Drake between late March and early Might. The present might have been a celebratory lap that didn’t acknowledge Drake’s existence in any respect by conserving these tracks off the roster.
As a substitute, Kendrick hit the bottom operating with the track that escalated their tensions. But in the long run, he celebrated the live performance as a second to unify the numerous and generally fractured sides of Los Angeles’ expansive hip-hop scene. “We completed misplaced numerous homies to this music shit, numerous homies to this road shit,” he stated, noting that the present featured artists from a number of completely different gang factions. He promised this is able to be the primary of extra collaborative strikes.
“Not Like Us” debuted at Quantity One on the Scorching 100 and hit Quantity One on Billboard’s Rythmic Airplay chart dated June 15, signifying its dominance on radio. In it, Lamar accuses Drake of pedophilia and exploiting different rappers. Drake responded with “The Coronary heart Half 6” accusing Lamar of home violence, distance from his kids, and surviving sexual assault.