Kendrick Lamar plays Drake diss track Not Like US five times at LA concert – BBC News

Kendrick Lamar hosted a star-studded concert in Los Angeles’ Kia Forum on Wednesday, intended as a show of unity for the West Coast rap fraternity.

More than 20 musicians made guest appearances, including Dr Dre, Roddy Ricch, Ty Dolla $ign, Tyler The Creator and Steve Lacy.

But the highlight of the night was the live debut of Lamar’s song Not Like Us – an eviscerating take-down of Canadian star Drake, which brought their long-running feud to a decisive end last month.

Encouraged by the crowd, Lamar played the song five times, with each performance more explosive than the last.

“Y’all ain’t gonna let nobody disrespect the West Coast, huh?” he asked, as the set drew to a close.

“Oh y’all ain’t gonna let nobody mock or imitate our legends, huh?”, he added, referring to Drake’s decision to use AI versions of Tupac and Snoop Dogg’s vocals on his song, Taylor Made Freestyle.

Lamar’s feud with Drake goes back years, but it escalated to new levels in April in May, as the two rappers traded insults in a flurry of new songs.

Drake, who has become the face of mainstream pop-rap, accused Lamar of selling out and mocked his height, while also levelling more serious allegations of domestic violence (the star has never faced such a claim).

Lamar, one of the most critically-acclaimed lyricists of his generation, called Drake’s music “predictable” and suggested he was addicted to gambling and drugs.

But Not Like Us took things a step further.

In the song, Lamar accused Drake of “colonising” Southern rap culture for personal gain and made (unsubstantiated) claims about his conduct with young women, which Drake later denied.

Powered by an irresistible DJ Mustard beat, Not Like Us broke Spotify records, becoming the hip-hop song with the most plays in a single day.

It went on to top the US charts, and reached number six in the UK – making it Lamar’s biggest hit as a solo artist.

The star announced his Junteenth concert just two weeks ago, but it sold out instantly.

Titled The Pop Out: Ken And Friends, it opened with sets by DJ Hed and DJ Mustard, who held a moment in memory of LA rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was murdered two years ago.

Lamar took to the stage shortly before 6:30pm, opening with another Drake diss track, called Euphoria.

The song included a new line, in which Lamar rapped: “Give me Tupac’s ring back and I might give you a little respect.”

The lyric referred to a ring, previously owned by the late Tupac Shakur, that was purchased at auction by an anonymous bidder for over $1 million last year. The buyer was later revealed to be Drake.