After Drake battle, Kendrick Lamar turns victory lap concert into LA unity celebration at Forum

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Not contented with simply taking a triumph thigh aft winning his battle against chap rap superstar Drake, Kendrick Lamar turned his Juneteenth "Pop Out" performance astatine the Forum into a cathartic livestreamed solemnisation of Los Angeles unity.

Lamar curated a three-hour performance featuring a premix of up-and-coming LA rappers and stars including Tyler, The Creator, Steve Lacy and YG. When it was his crook to instrumentality the stage, the 37-year-old rapper powered done a acceptable with Black Hippy collaborators Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock, performed his Drake diss songs "Euphoria" and "6:16 successful LA," past was joined on-stage by Dr. Dre.

The 2 West Coast titans performed "Still D.R.E." and "California Love" earlier Dre quieted the roaring assemblage by calling for a infinitesimal of silence. It was a misdirect. He past delivered the "Sixth Sense" punctuation that opens Lamar's chart-topping "Not Like Us": "I spot dormant people."

A assemblage of 17,000 that included The Weeknd, LeBron James, Ayo Edebiri and Rick Ross rapped on to each connection of the biting-but-jubilant DJ Mustard production, which Lamar restarted doubly aft the archetypal verse and performed 4 times successful full.

Shuffling, frolicking, dancing and spinning astir him arsenic Lamar strode the signifier successful a reddish hoodie: NBA stars Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan, Mustard, rapper Roddy Ricch and adjacent a teenage creation troupe led by the krumping innovator Tommy the Clown.

Lamar reveled successful the moment: "Y'all ain't gon' fto cipher disrespect the West Coast. Y'all ain't gon' fto cipher imitate our legends, huh," helium said, referring to Drake's usage of an AI instrumentality to mimic 2Pac's dependable connected 1 of his diss records.

But Lamar had much connected his mind, calling retired to circumstantial men and women to articulation him on-stage for a radical photo.

Kendrick Lamar and Drake person been engaged successful a lyrical conflict successful caller weeks that escalated implicit the weekend.

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"Let the satellite spot this," helium said. "For each of america to beryllium connected this signifier together, unity, from East broadside ... LA, Crips, Bloods, Piru - this ... is special, man. We enactment this ... unneurotic conscionable for ya'll.

"This ... ain't got thing to bash with nary opus astatine this point, ain't got thing to bash with nary backmost and distant records, it's got everything to bash with this infinitesimal close here. That's what this ... was about, to bring each of america together."

After the last song, Lamar exited, saying "I committedness you this won't beryllium the past of us." The stabbing horns of the "Not Like Us" instrumental kicked successful erstwhile again and the assemblage rapped the lyrics without Lamar arsenic they filed done hallways retired to the parking lot.