Kendrick Lamar Explained Why ‘The Pop Out’ Made Him ‘Emotional,’ Citing The Late Nipsey Hussle & Kobe Bryant

Kendrick Lamar’s Juneteenth Pop Out concert proved to be a uniting moment for Los Angeles’ rap scene (and some of its local NBA stars) as swarms of local rappers including Kendrick’s own Black Hippy crew joined him onstage to perform some of their most iconic hits. Unfortunately, two of the city’s biggest pillars weren’t in attendance; Kendrick took time during his set to talk about the absence of rap mainstay Nipsey Hussle and NBA legend Kobe Bryant.

“This sh*t making me emotional,” he admitted. “We been f*cked up since Nipsey died. We been f*cked up since Kobe died… This is unity at its finest. We done lost a lot of homies to this music sh*t, to this street sh*t. For all of us to be together on stage, that sh*t is special.”

The slew of LA stars who appeared throughout the evening included rising stars like 310babii, AzChike, Bino Rideaux, BlueBucksClan, Kalan.FrFr, Rucci, OhGeesy, Ray Vaughn, Remble, Wallie The Sensei, and Zoe Osama, as well as veterans such as Blxst, Dom Kennedy, Jason Martin, RJMrLA, Roddy Ricch, Steve Lacy, Tyler The Creator, Westside Boogie, and YG. Dr. Dre, whose co-sign initially boosted Kendrick to superstardom, also appeared, while Kendrick and the assembled rappers teamed up to perform the Drake diss anthem “Not Like Us” five times in a row.

You can watch The Pop Out on Amazon Music Prime Video now.