0
0
In celebration of Juneteenth, multi-Grammy award winning musician and Compton, California native Kendrick Lamar performed at a sold-out concert at the historic Forum (now Kia Forum) in Inglewood, Los Angeles on June 19th.
Tickets sold out almost instantly when news of a performance from the rapper-which the California State Senate recognized as a Generational Icon in 2015-was announced. Fans flocked to snag tickets, with some reporting they were in line behind tens of thousands of others. Demand for tickets was so high that resale prices skyrocketed, with some reaching up to $1,500.
Fans from around the globe didn’t have to miss out and were able to watch the historic performance on Rotation, the hip-hop and R&B brand from Amazon Music which will stream the concert titled “The Pop Out – Ken & Friends,” presented by pgLang and Free Lunch. The stream aired on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch and Prime Video.
The livestream coincides with “Forever the Influence,” Amazon Music’s way of honoring the contributions of Black artists, producers, and songwriters who have defined culture during Black Music Month. Amazon Music will announce additional Amazon Music Originals and video content from the most influential Black artists for “Forever the Influence” in the coming weeks.
The concert’s title is a reference to Lamar’s wildly popular Drake diss track, “Not Like Us,” introduced by legendary rapper/producer Dr. Dre. Hip-hop fans have declared “Not Like Us,” cemented Kungfu Kenny’s place as “winner” with the song becoming a huge radio success as a result from the feud. Since Lamar dropped his verse on Metro Boomin and Future’s track “Like That” back in March, the beef between him and Drake has finally come to an end. He performed the song five times in a row ultimately bringing up artists from different gangs to unite in a call for harmony and peace as both sides have suffered from violence and trauma within their respective communities.
DJ Hed warmed up the crowd with some of the West Coast most popular and modern acts such as Tommy the Clown while Producer/DJ Mustard used his set to bring out notable and famous performers such as YG, Dom Kennedy, Tyler the Creator, Ty Dolla Sign and Roddy Rich.
pgLang, is a multidisciplinary creative communications company that specializes in music and visual media production. The company was founded in 2020 by rapper Kendrick Lamar and music executive Dave Free, and is headquartered in Los Angeles. The name is an acronym for “program language”, which Free says is synonymous with text-based formal languages and aligns with Lamar’s art.
Last year, Amazon Music sponsored the Juneteenth celebration at Leimert Park but had to cancel several performances when a stampede broke out causing an abrupt ending.
