Image via Timmothy Norris / Getty
It's very rare for one artist to give the world a collective moment. But what Kendrick Lamar did with his concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, CA was historic. The event, which featured opening sets curated by DJ Hed and Mustard, functioned as a moment of appreciation for Kendrick’s city first, and a celebratory burial of Drake second.
The show, which was streaming live on Amazon Prime, featured a wide spectrum of contemporary L.A. acts: Remble, Problem, Blxst, YG, Ty Dolla $ign, Roddy Ricch, Steve Lacy, Tyler, the Creator, Black Hippy, Dr. Dre, and more all made appearances. Kendrick was able to take the momentum he gathered from his beef with Drake, merge it with the burgeoning talent in the city, and create a moment that was hyperspecific and globally impactful at the same time.
Complex was in the building for this moment. We have already written about what we saw inside the venue. Here are some additional takeaways from an evening that will go down in hip-hop history.
“Euphoria” was the perfect opener
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This was one of the best crowds you’ll ever see
Timothy Norris / Getty Images
It’s always frustrating when you see video footage of a historic concert, only to realize that the whole crowd was dead and no one in attendance fully comprehended the magnitude of what they were witnessing. Fortunately, I can assure you that was not the case in LA on Wednesday night. Everyone clearly understood they were there for a once-in-a-lifetime show, and the energy matched the occasion. People were taking shots in the parking lot, moshing on the floor, and loudly singing along to every word. It was a celebration, and they were extremely proud of their city. Outside of sporting events, I’ve never seen more L.A. gear in my life, and for a show of this magnitude in a major American city, it had a very regional feel. You get the sense Kendrick must have been very pleased with the way this crowd showed up. —Eric Skelton
The Los Angeles pride was very real
Artists explain what Kendrick Lamar means to the West Coast pic.twitter.com/64CpU3rpDg
— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) June 20, 2024
What I noticed from being at the show was how pleasantly surprised and impressed everyone was in the way Kendrick brought so many rival gang sets and artists under one roof. “[K Dot] is doing some sh*t that has never been before, bro,” rapper AZ Chike explained hours before the show began. “There’s a lot of nigg*s outside in their trailers that you wouldn’t catch on a regular day next to each other. Kendrick really brought the city together. nigg*s who really do sh*t to each other is just here having a good time, and that says a lot.” It’s proof you can unify an entire city with a couple of diss tracks. —Jordan Rose
We got the Black Hippy reunion rap fans needed
BLACK HIPPY REUNITES AT THE POP OUT 🙏pic.twitter.com/0BKMjR1vLB
— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) June 20, 2024
ScHoolboy Q has publicly talked about how unlikely it is for a new Black Hippy album to be released. It’s been eight years since the entire crew—Kendrick, Q, Jay Rock, and Ab-Soul—appeared on a song as a collective (the “THat Part” remix) and more than a decade since we’ve seen all four perform together. So watching Kendrick bring out his brothers, one by one, with each rapper getting their moment to shine, was easily the most emotional moment of the night. We might never get that official album, but this moment is a pretty decent second place. —Dimas Sanfiorenzo
There were some notable LA rappers who weren’t there
Kendrick had almost every notable L.A. artist on stage, from upcoming rappers (Ray Vaughn) to blue-collar vets (G Perico) to burgeoning superstars (Steve Lacy and Mustard.) But there were a couple of notable no-shows, and most could be explained pretty easily. Fans online wondered where Kendrick’s cousin Baby Keem was—but Keem isn’t an L.A. rapper, and this was clearly an L.A. show. 03 Greedo said he was invited but couldn’t make it. Snoop Dogg was on tour in Saskatchewan, Canada, which would explain why he couldn’t perform “Still Dre” with Dr. Dre. The real curious omission was The Game, one of Kendrick’s earliest supporters and a West Coast legend. Not only wasn't he there, but there was not a peep from him online. One explanation: during the height of their conflict, it seemed like Game sided with Drake, posting a curious Instagram post. After Kendrick responded with “Europhia,” Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith sent out his own cryptic message on Twitter, “We saw everybody that showed their hand. This the family. Dot still the King.” —Dimas Sanfiorenzo
The bootleg “Not Like Us” T-shirt industry is booming
bootleg Not Like Us shirts are EVERYWHERE at The Forum pic.twitter.com/aybFqytchW
— Eric Skelton (@ericskelton) June 20, 2024
PgLang made a lot of great merch for this show, but they weren’t the only ones. I’ve honestly never seen more bootleg merch in my life, and almost all of it revolved around Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” diss. If only some of the attendees had a better understanding of the irony involved with the phrase. (Sigh.) —Eric Skelton
“Meet the Grahams” didn’t meet the cut
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‘Mr. Morale’ didn’t get its moment
Kendrick might be the bogeyman, but that doesn’t mean he’s Teflon. Some of the most effective disses against Dot have been centered around the polarizing reaction to his last album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. J. Cole first mentioned it on the now-deleted “7 Minute Drill.” And Drake resurrected the idea, rapping, “Your last one bricked, you really not on sh*t” on “Push Ups.”It seems like maybe there’s a small part of Kendrick that agrees. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers was the only major label album not to get its moment last night. And considering how Kendrick had the crowd in his hands, it’s curious he didn’t at least try to perform heaters like “N95” or “Silent Hill.” For Kendrick to not play one note from his last album during what is effectively a greatest hits show does seem to imply… something. —Dimas Sanfiorenzo
Kendrick brought back the Nike Shox R4s
Kendrick Lamar hit the stage in a low-key, workmanlike outfit: red hoodie, blue jeans, and white and red sneakers. A clean but menacing look that some have speculated was inspired by Tupac’s 1994 Source Awards fit. The major difference, however, is the footwear: while Pac wore Filas, Kendrick was on stage in Shox R4s, a shoe from 2000 that has become more known for its functionality rather than style. We don’t know what Kendrick was trying to say with this footwear choice but it definitely took some effort: the shoe hasn’t been retroed since 2018. Was this a statement or does he know something we don’t know yet? —Dimas Sanfiorenzo
There can only be so much unity
Drakeo the Ruler had a complicated connection to Inglewood and, infamously, a contentious relationship with YG and his camp. But he was still an L.A. legend, one of the most prominent rappers from the city over the last decade, and the emcee who clearly was on Kendrick's mind when he recorded “Not Like Us.” So the fact that even during this unity show, Drakeo or his brother didn’t get a moment was interesting and just shows how deep some of the tension in the city is. On Twitter, Drakeo’s brother Ralfy the Plug didn’t say much about the snub, but he has been retweeting positive words about The Ruler. —Dimas Sanfiorenzo
Big regional shows might be the future
Yes, artist-backed festivals and concerts have been around for years. It’s not uncommon to see artists put their name on a poster in size 400 font for the love of their respective city, from J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival to Travis Scott’s Astroworld to Drake’s OVO Fest. But this one felt different. The popular artist-run concerts and festivals quickly become co-opted and corporatized to optimize ticket sales. Although there were corporate elements here—shout out to Amazon Music and Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s Gin and Juice pre-mixed co*cktail—this felt like a real regional show, where the culture of the city was prioritized. So can this format—where one star unifies a whole sound or scene while maintaining integrity—work in other cities? I think so. Imagine Jay-Z doing something like this with Brooklyn drill acts in the mix? Or Chief Keef rolling out the red carpet for new rappers in Chicago? I think Kendrick might have really cracked something here. —Dimas Sanfiorenzo
It lived up to the hype
— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) June 20, 2024This video is 9 minutes of madness 😭
"Not Like Us" is LA's new anthem. pic.twitter.com/e0BhJRSJKp
As soon as this concert was announced, most people assumed we were about to witness one of the best rap concerts ever. The Kendrick-Drake beef had already been solidified as one of the wildest moments in rap history, and the prospects of a victory lap in K.Dot’s hometown, surrounded by his peers and mentors had expectations soaring through the roof. And somehow, some way, it lived up to the hype. I’ve been to hundreds of rap shows in my life, but I’ve never felt anything like the energy inside The Forum as Kendrick played “Not Like Us” (one of the best diss songs ever) five times in a row, as he invited dozens of people onstage and united his city. I took a nine-minute video from the floor of the arena as an attempt to capture the insanity of what I was witnessing, but I don’t even know if that did it justice. It’s a feeling that 20,000 people (and an entire city) will hold onto forever, and it’ll go down as a historic moment in the career of one of the very best to ever do it. —Eric Skelton
