Kendrick Lamar Performs ‘Not Like Us’ for the First Time at Juneteenth Concert

The live version of the anthemic Drake diss was aired on his home show “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends’

By Mankaprr Conteh

Jun 20, 2024 04:24 AM

In a moment that may go down in rap history, Kendrick Lamar performed his Drake -eviscerating hit “ Not Like Us ” for the first time at his Juneteenth concert, The Pop Out: Ken & Friends . The show took place at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum and was announced less than two weeks prior. It was livestreamed on Twitch by Amazon Music.

Kendrick performed the track five times, each one more intense than the previous. “Y’all ain’t gonna let nobody disrespect the West Coast, huh?” Kendrick Lamar was asked following his handing the recurrent “A Minor” lyric (a double entendre that is meant to ridicule Drake in the context that Lamar says he’s sexually insensitive to girls under the age of) in the initial edition. The crowd largely guide the second half, and in the third, there were fireworks dancing, as well as an erupting chant of “O-V-Ho'” as he sang the song until he was done. The crowd demanded another song, which several of the night’s performers as well as other celebrities were present, with YG, Steve Lacy, Roddy Ricch, ScHoolboy Q and Clippers point guard Russell Westbrook. There were hundreds of spectators on the stage as Kendrick was rapping, dancing, and dipped his fingers through them for the fifth time.

Lamar opened his show by performing his first solo Drake diss about the year’s spring meat, ” Euphoria,” covered in red light as well as falling fireworks and smoke. He then sang the “Like That” verse that also ignited the beef. The singer also sang “DNA,” “Alright,” and “King Kunta.” Kendrick was performing with his the former Top Dawg Entertainment label mates Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and ScHoolboy Q.

Kendrick Lamar bringing out Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan and the whole west coast on stage while performing Not Like Us at The Pop Out Concert

A Moment In History #ThePopOut pic.twitter.com/cDNazGqh0d

— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) June 20, 2024

Indeed, it could be considered for Kendrick Lamar to keep “Not Like Us” off the setlist. Even though the concert seems to get its name from “Not Like Us” lyric – “Sometimes you gotta pop out and show niggas” -the fact is that Kendrick has evidently done it in the span of five diss tracks during his fight with Drake between the end of March and the beginning of May. The concert might have been more of a celebration lap, but it did not acknowledge Drake’s presence in any way by removing these tracks off the schedule.

However, Kendrick hit the ground in a flurry with his song, which intensified their tensions. However, at the end the show was hailed as an opportunity to unite the various and often broken facets in Los Angeles’ expansive hip-hop scene. “We done lost a lot of homies to this music shit, a lot of homies to this street shit,” he declared in announcing that the concert included artists from a variety of groups of gangs. He promised that this will be the beginning of more collaborations.

“Not Like Us” debuted at the top spot within the Hot 100 and hit Number One on Billboard’s Rythmic Airplay chart, which was released on June 15, which signifies its dominance in radio. In the song, Lamar accuses Drake of sexual exploitation and pedophilia, as well as taking advantage of other rappers. Drake replied by releasing ” The Heart Part 6” and accused Lamar with domestic abuse, a distance from his children and even surviving sexual assault.