Bigger Than Rap Beef: Here's How Kendrick Lamar's Epic Juneteenth Concert Made Hip-Hop History (2024)

Sometimes you have to pop out and show people...and that’s exactly what Kendrick Lamar did on Wednesday night at his surprise Juneteenth concert in Los Angeles.

Officially known as (or “Gangchella” as it’s now been dubbed on the internet, but more on that later)—the show was a complete ode to not only hip-hop, but an ode to a city that’s contributed more to the genre and the culture than we may have realized. And because there’s so much ground to cover and so many acts to talk about—because you really just had to be there like The Root was, or, at the very least, streamed it on Amazon Prime Video—let’s try to hit the highlights:

OPENING ACT I: DJ Hed & Friends

Arguably the most L.A. setlist of all, the beloved Cali deejay DJ Hed was the first to grace the stage. Espousing his love for the city, he brought along a myriad of well-known Cali artists who’ve put out some hits that may not immediately come to your mind if you’re not from the city, but have still seen some mainstream success.

Those artists included: Remble, Ray Vaughn, Cuzzos, Rucci and AZ Chike, Jay Worthy & The Whoops, Wallie the Sensei, Westside Boogie, Zoe Osama, Kalan FRFR & G Perico, Bino Rideaux, Bluebucksclan, RJMrLA, OhGeesy, and Jason Martin.

In a nod specifically to L.A. dance culture, Tommy the Clown and his clown dancers also graced the stage for a fire krump dance battle. For those who don’t know, Tommy the Clown (legally Thomas Johnson) is a beloved staple in South Central Los Angeles, most known for providing an outlet for inner-city youth to stay out of trouble and express their emotions through the art of “clown dancing” which later evolved into the style we know today as “krumping.” He got his start back in 1992 and has since kept up with his “clown crews” ever since. (If you’ve seen the documentary Rize from David LaChapelle then you already know how iconic this is.)

OPENING ACT II: DJ Mustard & Friends

While locals of L.A. got their entire life to the previous set, the rest of us (Author’s Note: yes, I’m a transplant but not too much on me) got a bit more turnt when DJ Mustard popped out for his set. If you’ve ever heard “Mustard on the beat, hoe” at the beginning of any hip-hop or R&B song, then you know what follows is set to be a banger (no pun intended).

For his portion, he brought out friends like: 310Babii, Blxst, Ty Dolla $ign, Dom Kennedy, Steve Lacy, Tyler the Creator (!!!), Roddy Ricch, and YG.

In a special moment, Mustard also led the sold-out crowd (which was comprised of mostly non-Black folks in a very Jordan Peele-esque twist) into a tribute to Nipsey Hussle, who tragically died back in March 2019. As lighters (or rather, phone lights) went up in the air, Nipsey’s hits like “Perfect Ten” and “Last Time That I Checc’d” played overhead.

THE MAIN EVENT: Ken & Friends

Now that the crowd was good and warmed up, the man of the hour himself—Kendrick Lamar finally popped out and got the festivities jumping right away by performing “Euphoria”—reminding us all why we were all there (to see the final proverbial nail in the coffin in his beef against Drake, duh.)

From there he went into “DNA,” “Element,” “Alright,” and “Swimming Pools” before bringing out the first of his friends: Jay Rock. The two of them, having been tight since their Black Hippy days, performed “Money Trees” and “King’s Dead” before Jay did one of his solo hit songs “Win.” From there, it turned into a quick Black Hippy reunion as fellow memebers AB Soul and Schoolboy Q joined Kendrick onstage. The latter artist performed his hits “Collard Greens” and “THat Part.”

Afterwards Kendrick went back in solo with songs like “King Kunta,” “M.a.a.d City,” “Humble,” and Future & Metro Boomin’s “Like That” (the song that started this year’s rap beef to begin with).

But what was perhaps the 50-leventh most iconic (or controversial depending on who you talk to) moment of the night, was when L.A. legend Dr. Dre popped up to perform “Still Dre” and “California Love.” And in a move that could be perceived as L.A.’s giant cosign for Kendrick and ultimate diss against Drake—Dr. Dre intro’d the song of the summer: “Not Like Us.”

And not only did Kendrick perform “Not Like Us” once, he performed it a total of six times, opting to run it back each time after the crowd scream-sang “A MINORRRRRRRRRRR” (if you know, you know).

And as if the night needed to end on a more legendary note, in between the repeats of the song, Kendrick brought up a handful of the artists that performed previously, NBA legends like Russel Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan and a number (alleged) members of various gangs in L.A., namely the Bloods, Crips, and other sets. Though initially unorganized, the “Loyalty” rapper somehow wrangled together the whole group for a large group photo that will no doubt serve as epic album cover (you already know it’s coming) and a marker for peace for a myriad of groups who many thought couldn’t be all under the same roof peacefully for years.

The move—while historic given the long, oft-unruly and violent history between the rival gangs—was also a signifier of the long-awaited unity in the hip hop genre. Regardless of what “set you rep” or whose side you found yourself on during this whole Drake/Kendrick war, Kung Fu Kenny’s message was clear: that night was bigger than rap beef.

“This sh*t making me emotional, man. We been f*cked up since Nipsey died, hold up. We been f*cked up since Kobe died, hold up. You ain’t seen this many sets onstage together keeping it one piece. Let the world see this. Let them see this,” he said at one point. “We put this together with peace…I promise this won’t be the last of us.”