Even though he’s no longer on the label, Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” concert on Juneteenth in Los Angeles was still very much a TDE affair. Black Hippy treated fans to a long-awaited reunion, and SZA donned a convincing disguise to attend the show in peace and turn up with the rest of the crowd. Moreover, new clips emerges on social media of the St. Louis superstar posing for the camera while showing off her fit, which included a cloth wrapped around her head, baggy jeans, and a green shirt. Also, some footage shows her in the crowd during the show itself, and we can only assume she had a great time.
Furthermore, it seems almost corny to tie everything about “The Pop Out” to the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef, but… I mean, the madman opened with “Euphoria.” As such, SZA’s appearance can’t help but evoke a particular line on Drizzy’s “Push Ups” for many fans, in which he says that she “wipes down” K.Dot. This mention was also notable due to her collaborations with the Toronto superstar last year, and their previous romantic relationship. However, the “Doves In The Wind” singer made it clear via an Instagram Story that she wanted no part in that feud, and it looks like now she’s the one sliming Aubrey out.
Jokes aside, SZA’s also got a lot more stuff to focus on and spend her energies living with, such as her Songwriters Hall Of Fame honors. “As an artist, I’ve been a lot of different people,” she said of her Hal David Starlight award. “I’ve been 200 pounds; I’ve been 130 pounds. I’ve been someone who doesn’t dance at all on stage… to someone who is dancing and trying their best and I think, ‘Oh man, I struggle with the artist thing,’ but writing was where I felt like a person, and I had value and showed that I was smart.
“It was beyond ‘Am I pretty?’” SZA continued. “‘Am I liked?’ And that meant everything to me. It made me feel like a person that was doing something worth something. Basically, receiving this award validates my entire career… Thank you for seeing me.” We might not have seen you this time, Solana (at least, not immediately), but no matter what disguise you don, your talents shine through.
Kendrick Lamar had the entire hip-hop world watching last night as he took to the stage for “The Pop Out.” Overall, this was one of the biggest events of the year so far. In fact, one could make the argument that this will go down as an all-time great hip-hop concert. Numerous West Coast artists were in the building, and unity was the main theme. However, during Kendrick’s set, there was a whole lot of Drake hate going around, which fans definitely expected.
Throughout the evening, fans noticed Kendrick’s attire and how he was seemingly paying homage to Tupac. Moreover, fans were noticing the cross-chain that he had around his neck. Overall, it is a nice chain that had some pretty clear diamonds throughout. Some fans were speculating about how much this may have cost, especially since we don’t see Kendrick with chains that often. Thankfully, Ben Baller was around to tell the world how much the chain cost. As you can see in the tweet below, he revealed that the chain was $600K.
That is certainly a lot of money for just one piece. However, this should not come as much of a surprise. Diamonds are expensive, and putting these pieces together takes labor. Given the scope of this show and the stage Kendrick was on last night, the pendant was probably well worth it. At the end of the day, Kendrick put one of the best shows in recent memory, and that is what fans are always going to remember.
Let us know what you think of the chain, in the comments section down below. Do you believe that this was one of the best concerts in the entire history of hip-hop? Who were some of your favorite performers from the entire night? Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news and updates from around the music world. We will continue to keep you informed on all of your favorite artists and their upcoming projects.
Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” in Los Angeles on Juneteenth was many things: a victory lap of sorts for the Drake beef, a celebration of many of the West Coast’s best current artists, and a thankful message and tribute to those who paved the way. In this last regard, eagle-eyed hip-hop fans drew a particular connection between K.Dot’s outfit for the occasion and that of a California legend for an iconic event. Moreover, the Compton lyricist donned a red hoodie and hat with baggy jeans and light-colored sneakers, mirroring the style that Tupac Shakur rocked at the 1994 Source Awards. Perhaps it seems like a reach at face value, but we all know how much Mr. Morale loves ‘Pac, so it’s not an impossibility.
Furthermore, another heartening tribute at the Kendrick Lamar show was to the late great Nipsey Hussle. Mustard honored the L.A. rapper by playing some of his big hits and collaborations during his set, including a special performance from Roddy Ricch that included a rendition of “Racks In The Middle.” It was probably the most special moment at the concert when it comes to explicitly honoring the West Coast’s hip-hop history, and definitely the most emotively resonant. It’s been five years since we lost Nipsey, and folks seem no less committed to keeping his legacy alive and well.
Back to Tupac, though, Kendrick Lamar issued a new “olive branch” to Drake with his “Euphoria” performance: give Ken ‘Pac’s ring back, and he might give The Boy a little respect. Of course, this seems like an unlikely reconciliation, and Drizzy might just take it to the grave at this point out of spite. A lot of fans are buzzing about what his reaction to all this is, and whether or not we’ll get some subliminal bars about “Not Like Us” playing five times because Kendrick is scared of the 6ix or something along those lines. Either way, this feels like an easy thing to ignore from the Toronto superstar’s perspective, as well.
Meanwhile, there are still some questions about why other West Coast artists didn’t attend the Kendrick Lamar show. The Game is suspect number one in this regard, and while his relationship with Dot isn’t combative in the public eye, it does appear strained. After all, he dissed Rick Ross amid this whole feud and seemingly took Drake’s side, which led many to speculate. Nevertheless, seeing Kendrick rock a similar fit to Tupac makes Aubrey’s use of his A.I. vocals on “Taylor Made Freestyle” all the more ironic.
As ODESZA begins saying goodbye to their fans, the prolific electronic duo is going out with a bang by taking things back to where they started.
To close out their final tour for the foreseeable future, ODESZA has teamed up with SETUP and Snapdragon to create a monumental immersive visual installation for the last three shows of The Last Goodbye Tour.
“The Echoes” installation will come to life at a venue near and dear to their hearts in their home state: the Gorge Amphitheater.
“The Echoes” activation is set to be one of ODESZA’s most technically ambitious projects to date, paying homage to the duo’s groundbreaking career, the community they’ve built, and showcasing their unrelenting commitment to technology and jaw-dropping visuals.
To tell the story of this epic endeavor in real time, Uproxx Studios is teaming with ODESZA, SETUP, and Snapdragon to release a four-part series. The first video (above) shows the duo working out how their recursive design and themes in their music influenced their title for the structure and the start of how these ideas are going to come to life, powered by the groundbreaking speed and efficiency of Snapdragon.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
Normani is a showstopping performer no matter the texture, tempo, and emotion at hand. Since her departure from Fifth Harmony, the singer proved time and time again that she can capture the attention and applause of her audience by doing just what a song calls her to do. It’s never too much, and it’s rarely underwhelming. “Waves” with 6lack, released back in 2018, is a climatic pop-leaning record that places Normani’s soaring vocals and sweet falsettos over grungy and moody production that also perfectly juxtaposes 6lack’s lower register. When given a roomy canvas, like on her 2021 song “Fair,” Normani makes sure her voice fills the room with runs that travel uninterrupted from stage to seat. On her long-awaited debut album Dopamine, she manages much of the same through performances that are not only impressive but liberating and boldly sensual in ways that add a new dimension to Normani’s artistry.
The road to Dopamine was a long one undoubtedly, but seemingly instrumental in developing the artist we hear on her 13-track debut. “Motivation,” released back in 2019, was the turning point for Normani – a prelude of sorts for Dopamine. With an upbeat spirit and triumphant production, Normani stepped out on her own to prove her readiness for the spotlight. A splashy video arrived with the song and presented Normani as a performer who could captivate at any given moment. The way we see Victoria Monét now is the journey Normani seemed ready to set out on. Dopamine is much darker and gloomier than “Motivation,” but it still grasps the attention of onlookers with the same elements: lyrics that dig deep into the emotions, production that caters rather than distracts, and a singer who sees all the tools at hand and knows just what to do with them.
Proof of this lives on “Candy Paint,” the grown-up version of “Motivation.” In an interview with Elle, Normani said the former “bridges the gap, I think, between ‘Motivation’ and where I am now.” Both aim to entice a lover with the golden gift of intimacy, but the latter plays it safe and colors inside the lines that separate discreet and compliant from defiant and bold. “Candy Paint” presents Normani on the other side of the border, where the freedom that comes with it is too good to hide. “If you let me take him, you might never get him back,” she sings with undeterred certainty. “I’m a baddie and I don’t know how to act.” This liberation is the foundation for Dopamine. It’s a flag that Normani proudly stakes into the ground in the world her debut lives in and she wastes no time exploring it.
“Big Boy” kicks off the album in dominant and assertive fashion. “Only ever see this type of sh*t in the movies,” Normani boasts over trunk-rattling production backed by New Orleans-influenced trumpets. Anchored by woozy synths and Houston’s trademark screwed-up production, Normani remains assertive on “Still” as she brags about her status and being “too busy livin’ my life.” Normani’s newfound liberation is the light at the end of the tunnel. She reached it only after a long journey that saw her work through the emotional whirlwind that included both her parents being diagnosed with cancer and the critiques of fans who were too impatient to offer her the grace to grieve and come back to music on her own terms. It should come as no surprise that Normani’s escape from the dark times has pushed her to live each day to the fullest.
Normani’s assertiveness doesn’t only take shape over grand productions that call for an epic performance. It’s just as present in more timid moments that swap the lively energy of a party for the burning passion of bedroom intimacy and the overwhelming emotions behind heartbreak. She sees no worrisome risk or penalty in being painfully honest in pain or brutally forward in her sexual desires. “Distance” begins as a timid and soft-spoken account of a partner’s failures in a relationship before erupting into an epic declaration of the end of a once-promising love story. On the flip side, Normani seduces her partner with the summoning “Lights On” as she whispers sultry requests that are sure to make the ear melt. “Don’t even address me unless you gon’ undress me,” she sings before promising to “make you come fast like a ’98 sports car.”
Dopamine delivers samples of all the lanes Normani can switch into and thrive in at any given moment. She finds comfort in the bounce and joyous trumpets of New Orleans and the woozy sounds of her Houston hometown as much as she does the vulnerable and emotional moments heartbreak can bring. With that being said, Normani’s debut is more than a display of versatility, it’s a statement of status and evidence of how she can sweep her suitors and competitors off their feet with ease. The question is never “Am I enough?” or “Can I compete?” or “Can I stand out?” for Nomani who instead, understands that she is the prize. Within the confinements of Dopamine and the mind of the artist who created the album, doubts about its quality are about as present as a skippable track on the album. Normani the person went through hell in the half-decade journey to Dopamine, but in the end, Normani the artist emerged from the fire to be the bright and free star we always knew she could be.
Dopamine is out now via RCA Records. Find out more information here.
“I hate saying this but I have to cancel Lollapalooza and Outside Lands,” Tyler The Creator posted on X (formerly Twitter). “I made a commitment that I can no longer keep, and that bums me out knowing how excited folks were. That is not sexy at all. Please please forgive me or call me names when you see me in person. Love.”
i hate saying this but i have to cancel lollapalooza and outside lands.
i made a commitment that i can no longer keep, and that bums me out knowing how excited folks were.
that is not sexy at all. please please forgive me or call me names when you see me in person. love
Simultaneously, Lollapalooza announced Megan Thee Stallion and Outside Lands announced Sabrina Carpenter as their respective replacements for Tyler.
Hot girl summer in Chicago
Unfortunately, Tyler, the Creator will not be able to perform this year. See @theestallion headline Lolla on Thursday, August 1st! pic.twitter.com/qin2dCr0ii
In April, Tyler The Creator headlined both Saturday nights of Coachella 2024, which stood out to Uproxx’s Aaron Williams as Tyler fulfilling “a decade-long dream” by delivering a set that “lived up to the hype.”
DJ Akademiks has always made it crystal clear to his fans that Drake is his favorite artist. Overall, this was especially prevalent during Drake’s feud with Kendrick Lamar. Although fans were mostly on K-Dot’s side, Akademiks found himself defending Drizzy over and over again. Furthermore, there were multiple times when Akademiks’ reporting on his pages would lean one way. For instance, his Akademiks TV page was doing a whole lot of cheerleading last night.
If you follow the account, you probably saw all sorts of sarcastic tweets go out. It was a brutal display, and there was one instance where Ak got ahead of himself. In the tweet down below, you can see that a fan took a screenshot of a deleted Akademiks TV post. When you see the contents of the tweet, you will see why Ak took it down. Essentially, he claimed that Whitney Alford and Dave Free were not in attendance at the show. However, that was disproven by various videos in which Alford could be seen with her kids. Not to mention, Dave Free was heavily included in the credits.
Drake fans were in complete disarray last night. If the “OVO Community” has ever popped up on your timeline, you know they can do some damage. However, if you are a Kendrick fan, then you had yourself a pretty incredible night. For DJ Akademiks, it wasn’t the greatest. But that’s okay. It seems like Drake is looking to drop some music this summer. If you are a fan of the Canadian, all is not lost, at least for now.
Let us know what you thought of DJ Akademiks and his coverage of the event, in the comments section down below. Do you feel as though he was being purposely biased throughout the evening? How do you think Drake felt about last night’s events? Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news and updates from around the music world. We will continue to keep you informed on all of your favorite artists and their upcoming projects.
Kendrick Lamar fans have a lot to digest from “The Pop Out” last night (Wednesday, Juneteenth), whether it’s concerning the Drake beef or just celebrating the West Coast. On the former point, arguably the less impactful of the two, there was one particular attendee in the stands that caught many fans’ attention… to be more specific, multiple concert-goers. K.Dot’s partner Whitney Alford was there to watch the whole thing go down, seemingly with their children together as well. Given all the things that the Toronto superstar said about their relationship, a lot of fans now think that his words don’t ring as true as he or anyone else thought.
Moreover, if you forgot, Drake claimed that Kendrick Lamar is actively cheating on Whitney Alford, physically abused her, and that he barely sees his kids after moving to a Brooklyn apartment. Of course, the Compton lyricist already spoke on the strain of his bond with Whitney on Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, so chastising an imperfect relationship didn’t become that surprising or notable. What did shock listeners was Drizzy’s claim that one of their children is actually Dave Free’s, who is a close collaborator and business partner of Kendrick’s. To be fair, OVO Stans also jumped to conclusions much in the same way that pgLang affiliates are now when Whitney’s IG account was silent on Father’s Day. No party has responded to the Toronto superstar’s allegations.
However, it’s also arguable that physical presence speaks louder than online ones, and either way, we don’t really know for sure what their relationship looks like, nor should we. The important thing is that she and presumably thier family were there to support Kendrick Lamar. Still, this isn’t the only way in which this show seemed to represent a direct response to that rumor. Dave Free produced the show, and his inclusion at the very top of that credits list meant for many Mr. Morale fans that he was actively combating Drake’s narrative of division or tension between them.
I’m going to forever love the fact Kendrick girl Whitney & Dave Free never even felt it was necessary to speak up to deny them random ass made up allegations lol shit was deadass not even worth speaking about and dude fans really was backing it. Nothing ever supported them lies
Meanwhile, fans speculated quickly on what Drake’s thoughts on all of this are, and reached some interesting conclusions. Obviously, that depends a lot on which “side” they chose to support in this Kendrick Lamar battle. We’re sure that many other elements of “The Pop Out” will continue to fuel this post-beef discussion. But on the family front, things seem more tranquil than these back-and-forths led on.
Tyler The Creator is one of the best performers alive right now, and anytime he’s headlining a festival, it’s a great chance to see him at peak powers. Sadly, he announced on Thursday morning (June 20) that he has to cancel his slots at Lollapalooza in Chicago on August 1 and Outside Lands in San Francisco on August 10. These festivals acted quickly to secure replacements, though, and fans will be treated to Megan Thee Stallion and Sabrina Carpenter instead, respectively. While this news surely disappointed many fans and concert-goers, unfortunately not all live performances can work out as scheduled, and the Los Angeles native just so happened to be the latest example in this common reality.
“I hate saying this but I have to cancel Lollapalooza and Outside Lands,” Tyler, The Creator wrote on Twitter, which contained a vague explanation and sincere apologies and remorse. “I made a commitment that I can no longer keep, and that bums me out knowing how excited folks were. That is not sexy at all. Please please forgive me or call me names when you see me in person. Love.”
Of course, this carries a particularly different sting to it depending on whether or not you went to Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” concert last night (Wednesday, Juneteenth). Tyler, The Creator was one of many hometown artists who came out for a special guest performance, electrifying the crowd with “WUSYANAME” and “EARFQUAKE.” Out of all the surprises and invitees both onstage and in the crowd, the Hawthorne creative was probably the one that shocked fans the most. After all, his name didn’t appear much in fan speculation about who would join K.Dot for the momentous occasion, and not a single soul complained about this welcome link-up.
Meanwhile, for anyone that knows the extent of Tyler, The Creator’s longevity as an artist and performer, they know that he will likely repay these canceled festival headline sets soon with more great performances. Also, this longevity became very apparent in his music when his 2013 album Wolf recently reached over a billion streams on Spotify. Hopefully Golf Wang fans who looked forward to Lollapalooza and Outside Lands get another chance soon to see their GOAT. But at least Los Angeles got a special treat to make up for it.
Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” concert boasted a lot of special guest performers and attendees, but there’s one particular exclusion that has many fans speculating on potential explanations. Moreover, the show was a celebration of all things West Coast, but some rappers that have repped Los Angeles all the way did not appear for unknown and likely innocent reasons. However, one MC who didn’t attend might have more reason to avoid an appearance, and that’s The Game. Social media began to theorize on why he wasn’t there, especially considering that he and K.Dot have had a pretty good and stable relationship over the years.
Still, some factors have always interfered with this perception, such as past claims of jealousy and, most notably and recently, The Game’s apparent support of Drake during the latter’s beef with Kendrick Lamar this year. In fact, he even dissed Rick Ross, who supported Ken against his formerly close colleague Drizzy, so a lot of fans assumed that the Los Angeles spitter sided with his city’s opposition this time around. Regardless of whether this was intentional or not, there honestly aren’t a whole lot of solid indicators that he actually picked a side. The closest thing we got to that was a social media post playing The Boy’s “Energy,” which was enough confirmation for many.
Kendrick Lamar With A Sea Of West Coast Artists & Fans At “The Pop Out”
This was low key more lit than the Boston Celtics Championship celebration lol Kendrick really untied the west coast tonight. I’m so proud to be able to see this moment. pic.twitter.com/PDvgYVBXLQ
Meanwhile, this is what The Game had to say a few years ago about his exclusion from 2022’s Super Bowl halftime show, which hosted many Los Angeles artists including Kendrick Lamar. “I was hurt by that,” he told I Am Athlete‘s Brandon Marshall. “The real reason I wasn’t on the Super Bowl is because I’m not a ‘safe’ artist. You don’t know what the Game gon’ do when he get up there. So, it’s just like, ‘He not safe,’ so they went with the safe artists.
“We, on the West Coast, are the only motherf***ers who have this crab-in-a-barrel mentality, where we wanna keep n***as down,” The Game claimed. “Snoop Dogg is icon. Dre is icon [he popped out for the Kendrick Lamar show, too]. Em is an icon, but Em is not from L.A. 50 is not from L.A. I’m not taking away from the fact that they were on the Super Bowl, but L.A. [artists] wouldn’t have been in the Detroit Super Bowl or New York Super Bowl. It just wouldn’t have happened… L.A., L.A., L.A. all around the Super Bowl and I didn’t get the call.”
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