Kendrick Lamar is the only hip-hop star to win the Pulitzer Prize for music
Kendrick Lamar hosted a star-studded concert at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Wednesday to showcase unity within the West Coast rap community. The event featured over 20 guest musicians, including Dr. Dre, Roddy Ricch, Ty Dolla $ign, Tyler The Creator, and Steve Lacy.
The night's highlight was the live debut of Lamar's song "Not Like Us," a scathing diss track aimed at Canadian rapper Drake, marking a decisive moment in their long-standing feud. Encouraged by the audience, Lamar performed the song five times, each rendition more intense than the last.
"Y’all ain’t gonna let nobody disrespect the West Coast, huh?" Lamar asked as the set drew to a close. "Oh, y’all ain’t gonna let nobody mock or imitate our legends, huh?" he added, referencing Drake's use of AI-generated vocals of Tupac and Snoop Dogg on his track "Taylor Made Freestyle."
Lamar (left) and Drake have been engaged in a furious war of words
The feud between Lamar and Drake dates back years and reached new heights in April and May as they exchanged insults through a series of new songs. Drake, representing mainstream pop-rap, accused Lamar of selling out and mocked his height, alongside more serious, unsubstantiated allegations of domestic violence. Lamar, celebrated as one of his generation's most acclaimed lyricists, criticized Drake's music as "predictable" and hinted at his gambling and drug issues.
"Not Like Us" intensified the conflict. Lamar accused Drake of "colonizing" Southern rap culture and made unverified claims about his behavior with young women, which Drake denied. The track, backed by an infectious DJ Mustard beat, broke Spotify records for a hip-hop song's most plays in a single day. It topped the US charts and reached number six in the UK, becoming Lamar's biggest solo hit.
Announced two weeks prior, Lamar's Juneteenth concert, "The Pop Out: Ken And Friends," sold out instantly. The show began with sets by DJ Hed and DJ Mustard, who paid tribute to the late LA rapper Nipsey Hussle. Lamar took the stage around 6:30 PM, opening with another Drake diss track, "Euphoria." This song featured a new line: "Give me Tupac’s ring back and I might give you a little respect," referencing a ring once owned by Tupac Shakur, which Drake had purchased at auction for over $1 million.
Lamar went on to play hits including "DNA," "Alright," "Swimming Pools (Drank)," and "King Kunta." He was joined on stage by Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock—his bandmates from the hip-hop supergroup Black Hippy—to perform "M.A.A.D. City" and "That Part." Lamar also delivered his verse from Future and Metro Boomin's song "Like That," which had sparked this year's lyrical feud.
Towards the end of the show, streamed live on Amazon, Lamar brought out West Coast rap legend Dr. Dre, who acted as his hype man for raucous renditions of "Still D.R.E." and "California Love." Dre then introduced the first performance of "Not Like Us" by whispering the opening line, "I see dead people." The crowd's anticipation for the song had been building all night, with fans chanting its lyrics at various points during Lamar's set.
With each repeat of "Not Like Us," Lamar was joined by more guests. By the night's end, nearly 30 people were on stage, including YG, Steve Lacy, Schoolboy Q, Big Boy, G Perico, DJ Mustard, and basketball stars Russell Westbrook and Demar Derozan. The gathering marked a rare moment of solidarity in Los Angeles' often fractured hip-hop scene.
Pausing to take a group photo, Lamar told the crowd, "This is unity, y’all just don’t know man." He dedicated the show to the musicians and friends lost to violence, saying, "Everybody on this stage got fallen soldiers. For all of us to be together, that [expletive] is special. We put this together with peace... I promise this won’t be the last of us."
The show concluded with a sixth, instrumental version of "Not Like Us," played as fans exited the arena.
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