At what point during Wednesday’s “The Pop Out” concert do you think Drake was rethinking all his life choices? Was it when 17,000 people rapped the lyrics to a six and half minute diss track? Was it the third, fourth or fifth time Kendrick Lamar dropped “Not Like Us” to close the show? Either way, what we all witnessed was one man bringing out all his friends to enthusiastically dance on another man’s grave.
Throughout the Compton native’s set, viewers had a good time getting their jokes off about how he put on a whole concert just to kick more dirt in Drake’s face. And Black Twitter made sure the Certified Lover Boy knew exactly what was going on at the KIA Forum in Inglewood.
Acknowledging the unique circumstances that led us here, one user wrote on X, “17,000+ people gathered together in one place to call Drake a pedophile with Kendrick Lamar. This level of hate will never be duplicated.”
One person noted how Ken came out the gate on fire, writing on X, “Kendrick Lamar kicked off his ‘Ken & Friends’ Juneteenth concert with ‘Euphoria’ He ain’t ever coming up off Drake’s neck.”
Several fans showed their appreciation for the Grammy winner’s commitment to his grudge, with one user posting, “Kendrick definitely extremely petty.”
If this were just about putting one over on Drake, people wouldn’t have been as enthusiastic. Ken’s artistry is what makes this moment so special, prompting one person to post, “NAHH THIS IS ONE THE GREATEST HIPHOP PERFORMANCES OF ALL TIME!!!!”
“Kendrick Lamar Presents: I Hate Drake The Musical Sponsored by Amazon Music,” wrote another user about the production.
At one point, when “Not Like Us” dropped for the fourth or fifth time, with the crowd not missing a single lyric, one person noted, “THEY JUMPIN DRAKE DAMN!”
With his rival going full “Mortal Kombat” to “Finish Him,” someone offered the Canadian superstar travel advice, writing on X, “Drake can’t even fly over California at this rate.”
“Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” led to a lot of questions about the “DNA” rapper’s artistic choices, but he put all that to rest with this performance. “I don’t wanna hear anyone say shit about Kendrick AGAIN! An absolute LEGEND,” wrote one user on X.
It was painfully clear what we were all watching, with one person writing, on X, “I ain’t never been to a funeral this lit in my life! Wild! Streaming your ops demise is crazy work.”
One of the most important moments of the night came when Kendrick got members of all the local gangs on stage together for a photo of unity. This is how you use art to positively impact your city. Of course, it was back to regularly scheduled programming when he was done with that. “Bruh organized a group photo op and then continued to dance on his grave,” wrote “Grapsody” podcast host Phil Lindsey.
One person wondered if the Toronto native has tried to fix things with K.Dot, asking on X, “have you tried apologizing @Drake?”
Another user pointed out how the concert displayed the fundamental differences between the two artists, writing on X, “that’s what made tonight special. i know we love the drake hate but kendrick made sure it was a tribute to his home and her people. he said it was bigger than back and forth records. drake would’ve made it about drake.”
All joking aside, Kendrick didn’t just take a victory lap for himself, he did it for LA, turning the concert into a moment of peace and love for everyone.
