5 Ways Kendrick Lamar's "Pop Out" Performance Put the Final Nail in Drake's Coffin

Still thinking about Kendrick getting a crowd of over 100K to go bar for bar on a 6-minute and 30-second song (“euphoria”) at “The Pop Out” (excluding LeBron James). In other news today:

• Kendrick Lamar broadcasted Drake’s funeral for “The Pop Out” 💀 

• Travis Scott was arrested & made merch out of his mugshot 😂 

• New Music Friday releases 💿️ 

• Industry Insights 📈 

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5 Ways Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” Performance Put the Final Nail in Drake’s Coffin

Juneteenth is a time of celebration, remembrance, and activism. However, K. Dot turned this year's holiday into an absolute slaughter of his enemies while honoring the city he holds dear. 

With the crowd energetically singing along (the “A Minor” bar was so loud you could hear it on the East Coast), Kendrick in five rounds delivered fatal blows to Drake’s legacy. Hatechella, Gangteenth, Kendrick Lamar Presents: I Hate Drake The Musical—take your pick. 

But alongside the greatest victory lap of any rap beef, Kendrick’s “The Pop Out” was a historic moment in hip-hop uniting legends, rivals, and the entire West Coast to show the world they (and one person in particular) “not like us.” 

Round #1: “Euphoria” and Tupac

K. Dot started his set with his Drake diss “Euphoria” but added notable tweaks that suggest he took Drake’s use of Tupac A.I. personally—and he’s not over it.

Despite this being the first time he performed these songs live, fans gathered at the Kia Forum knew every word like it was the National Anthem. Starting peacefully crouched in the middle of the stage for the intro, K. Dot exploded into his first verse, complete with plenty of pyro and a whole lotta breath control. 

To keep the momentum going, he added a new lyric to the song: “Give me 2Pac ring back and I might give you a little respect." Kendrick’s outfit choice added even more context to how seriously he takes respect toward the West Coast legend. Wearing a 2Pac fit to the funeral of the man who tried to use his likeness against you? Diabolical.

Round #2: A Throwback to 2012

Kendrick and Jay Rock went from performing “Money Trees” at Best Buy in 2012 to a sold-out stadium. As one the biggest songs on K. Dot’s 2012 good kid, m.A.A.d city album, the excitement to hearing the track live again only got bigger once Jay Rock rose from the stage.

“The way Jay Rock and Kendrick are going back and forth with Kendrick ad-libbing and hyping him up is so contagious. Their chemistry is undeniable,” X user King Wow said in a June 19 tweet. 

The duo went on to also perform hits like “King’s Dead” and “Win” before another iconic reunion took place.

Round #3: Black Hippy is reunited (and it feels so good)

Kendrick went on to perform his next Drake diss, “6:16 in LA” and was joined by Ab-Soul. Having recently gone through mental health struggles, this was the first performance the duo came together in years since Ab-Soul took time away from music.

Once the opening beat for “Collard Green” began to play, fans knew they were witnessing history as Schoolboy Q hit the stage.

“A Black Hippy reunion on stage in 2024. If you only knew what this did to our young adulthood, man. Life music, on all fronts,” X user CoryTownes said.

Black Hippy was the name of the group featuring K. Dot, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and Schoolboy Q. They came together in 2008 after signing with TDE. The reunion was a reminder of how much the trio and TDE have impacted the culture of West Coast rap.

Round #4: K. Dot is “Like That” – And has Dr. Dre’s support 

Kendrick geared up for his massive K.O. on “69 God” by performing his verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s track “Like That.” Then, West Coast legend Dr. Dre came out to not only share some “California Love,” but to give K. Dot his flowers. 

He told the crowd that it was great to perform in his hometown, especially with “one of the greatest that’s ever did it.” Dr. Dre has left his house for three reasons in the last 20 years—his divorce, the Super Bowl, and Kendrick’s concert.

It’s obvious the respect is mutual, with Kendrick giving Dr. Dre one of the biggest roles of the night—the introduction to “Not Like Us.” 

Round #5: Performing “Not Like Us” five times

Dr. Dre waited for complete silence before whispering to the crowd that he “sees dead people.” The moment that fans and LA natives had been waiting for had finally arrived—the first live performance of “Not Like Us.” 

Before running it back the second time, Kendrick addressed the crowd. 

“Y’all not gonna let anyone disrespect the West Coast, huh? Y’all not going to let anyone imitate our legends, huh?” he said before letting the crowd sing along to the song the second time solo. 

Complete with elite camera work and West Coast artists, athletes, gang members, dancers, and friends joining him onstage, “Not Like Us” went from arguably Kendrick’s best Drake diss to a song of unity. 

Bloods and Crips were dancing on the same stage together. Long Beach’s Russell Westbrook and Compton’s Demar DeRozan were getting lit on stage. Ken & Friends danced on the grave of his opponent not once—but five times. It was the strongest display of West Coast unity and culture the world has ever seen—something only Kendrick could have orchestrated.

Drake said Kendrick’s gang affiliations are fake, and his support of Compon is performative. Last night, Kendrick proved that not only is he Compton, but he’s also the entire West Coast, and they just won 2024.

It’s a wrap, Drizzy

Social media was ablaze as people watched the live stream from the comfort of their homes.

But the big question remains: Can Drake ever recover from this? 

He had friends like Lebron James vibing to his diss record in the crowd. People he claimed as allies like YG on “Family Matters” performed at the concert hosted by his current biggest enemy. SZA arrived incognito to hear Kendrick instead of “Rich Baby Daddy.” Even former Toronto Raptor DeMar DeRozan repped his hometown of Compton.

The notable guests in attendance confirmed what we all already knew—the beef is over, and there are no more sides to choose from.  “Drake truly underestimated how much Kendrick Lamar hated him,” X user big_business said. 

Travis Scott Made Merch Out of His Mugshot

Travis Scott got too into his “SICKO MODE” bag this week. He was arrested early Thursday morning, June 20, while in Miami Beach for multiple charges. When asked by officers if he was intoxicated, he said, “It’s Miami.”

This might be the most unserious rapper arrest of all time, find out why below. 

Wait, so what went down?

Scott was taken into Miami-Dade County early in the morning of June 20 for alleged trespassing and disorderly conduct. According to a report from CBS News, officers were called to handle a disturbance on one of the yachts at the Miami Beach Marina. 

Scott was on the dock yelling at people on the yacht when they pulled up. Scott was asked to sit and chill out, but he only briefly did before standing back up. Officers noted the alcohol on his breath and said that he was ignoring their commands. 

The person on the yacht didn’t want to press charges but wanted Scott to leave. Continuing to yell, Scott was escorted back to a car waiting for him, but according to TMZ, he told the officers that if he got into the car, he was “gonna catch a fade.” 

He drove away, but La Flame was not done. Five minutes later, he returned, trying to bypass the officers and return to the yacht. He was then arrested and booked around 4 a.m. 

When asked if he had been drinking, Scott simply responded, “It’s Miami.” 

Has he been released? 

He has since bonded out of jail, with his “trespassing after warning” charge having a $500 bond amount and “disorderly intoxication” having a $150 bond amount. 

He has not directly explained what happened that night. However, on the morning of June 20, he tweeted “Lol” from his X account. 

“Free The Rage” Mugshot Merch and what’s next 

Scott’s mugshot is everywhere, being edited to various unserious degrees by fans, and popping up in pfp’s. Scott reposted the sunglasses and headphones edit on his Instagram story and then made an edit of his own for a legendary merch drop. 

Making thousands out of a $650 bond, you can now buy a Cactus Jack “Free The Rage” tee with the smiling version of his mugshot and the iconic slogan “It’s Miami” through his official shop. For reference, 19 T-shirt sales surpass the bond amount he had to pay but a portion of the proceeds will go to the Cactus Jack Foundation.

Despite the chaos, Scott is still excited to perform soon. He tweeted later the same day that there were only a few days left until his Europe leg of the Circus Maximus Tour. 

“6 days to circus Maximus tour. For the record I’m going. Ham,” he said. 

New Music Friday

Hope you’re still eating off Don Toliver’s album because it’s a calm NMF. Most highly anticipated collabs are Travis Scott x Mustard and the “Carnival” crew running it back minus Carti. Here’s all the music you can listen to now—categorized by 💿️ for albums and 🎶 for singles:

• 💿️ Freak Show by G-Eazy

• 💿️ Exodo by Peso Pluma

• 💿️ Crash by Kehlani

• 🎶 “Parking Lot” by Travis Scott, Mustard

• 🎶 “Gimme A Second 2” by Rich The Kid, Ye, Ty Dolla $ign

• 🎶 “Tiffany” by IDK, Gunna

• 🎶 “Phat Butt” by Ice Spice

• 🎶 “Hilarious” by $not, Cochise

• 🎶 “Fuck The Rap Game” by 6lack

• 🎶 “Big Big Money” by Key Glock

• 🎶 “Wave” by Asake, Central Cee

• 🎶 “S680” by Talibando, Veeze

• Reason is turning over a new leaf. He announced on June 18 that he was officially leaving Top Dawg Entertainment after seven years. 

• Be prepared to hear Tommy Richman everywhere. He announced his debut album Coyote on the back of Billboard magazine on June 17. 

• Tyler the Creator is dropping out. He is no longer headlining Lollapalooza or appearing at this year’s Outside Lands festival, with no reason given yet. 

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