Kendrick Lamar’s concert—”The Pop Out: Ken & Friends”— took place at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Wednesday (June 19) in celebration of Juneteenth, a significant date commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States. The historic event was organized by Lamar’s company, pgLang, in collaboration with Free Lunch.
Those unable to attend in person were able to catch the entire experience on Amazon Prime Video—and Ice-T was clearly watching (or at least saw clips). The concert made headlines for K. Dot’s groundbreaking efforts to bridge the gap between rival L.A. gangs, a bold statement of unity and reconciliation.
On Saturday (June 22), Ice-T praised Kendrick Lamar for his ongoing efforts, sharing a photo of the tribute for Nipsey Hussle, who was gunned down by Rolling ’60s Neighborhood Crip Eric Holder in March 2019.
“A Potential Gang Truce in LA is like a Cure for Cancer for us,” Ice-T wrote in the caption. “Extreme Respect to @kendricklamar.”
A Potential Gang Truce in LA is like a Cure for Cancer for us…. Extreme Respect to @kendricklamar ✊🏽 pic.twitter.com/9J9ZlJgH2K
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) June 22, 2024
Kendrick Lamar, who has often spoken about the impact of gang culture in his lyrics, leveraged his influence to bring together individuals from different backgrounds and rival factions.
“This s### making me emotional,” Kendrick Lamar said during the show. “We been f##### up since Nipsey died. We been f##### up since Kobe died. This is unity at its finest. We done lost a lot of homies to this music s###, to this street s###. For all of us to be together on stage, that s### is special. Everybody on this stage got fallen soldiers.”
Simultaneously, Kendrick Lamar baited his current rap foe Drake by performing the chart-topping diss track “Not Like Us” five times in a row.
He also encouraged Drake to return 2Pac’s ring, which the OVO Sound artist purchased at a Sotheby’s auction for $1 million, by changing some of the lyrics to “euphoria.” On the original, K. Dot raps about Drake buying one of 2Pac’s rings, but on the altered version, he said, “Give me 2Pac’s ring back and I might give you a lil respect.”
“The Pop Out” is being remembered as one of the best Hip-Hop concerts in recent memory. The stacked bill included a surprise performance by Dr. Dre as well as appearances from Westside Boogie, Jay Rock, Tyler, The Creator, YG, Baby Keem, ScHoolBoy Q, Mustard, Roddy Rich and more.
