In Photos: LeBron James, James Harden and Russell Westbrook seen vibing at Kendrick Lamar's "The Pop Out" concert
Basketball and hip-hop converged during Kendrick Lamar's "The Pop Out" concert on Wednesday night, with prominent NBA figures such as LeBron James, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook in attendance.
Held at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, The Pop Out was a Juneteenth celebration and Lamar's first major performance since his highly publicized feud with Canadian rapper Drake concluded. The concert featured Lamar's first live performances of "Like That," "Euphoria," "6:16 in LA" and "Not Like Us," songs which include disses aimed at Drake.
Several NBA stars were spotted enjoying the concert. Check them out below.
What’s more, Westbrook and Toronto legend DeMar DeRozan, who shares Canadian roots with Drake, joined Lamar onstage for his performance of “Not Like Us,” one of the more pointed tracks from the rap beef.
Westbrook and DeRozan danced onstage as Lamar performed the song, which included jabs at Drake such as “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles,” and a nod to DeRozan’s tenure in Toronto with the line “I'm glad DeRoz' came home, y'all didn't deserve him neither.”
Kendrick Lamar urges LeBron James to keep his family away from Drake
In “Meet the Grahams,” Kendrick Lamar namedropped LeBron James and warned him to keep his family away from Drake.
In the song, Lamar advised people known for fostering good family ties to distance themselves from Drake, whom he labeled as a gambling addict, a man with “sick thoughts,” a body shamer and more. He specifically mentioned LeBron James and Steph Curry
Lamar rapped:
“Ayy, LeBron, keep the family away, hey, Curry, keep the family away / To anybody that embody the love for they kids, keep the family away / They lookin' at you too if you standin' by him, keep the family away / I'm lookin' to shoot through any pervert that lives, keep the family safe.”
The Drake-Kendrick Lamar beef began with Lamar's verse on the song "Like That" from the Future and Metro Boomin album. Lamar's verse referenced J. Cole and Drake’s verse from “First Person Shooter,” saying "Motherf**k the big three, n***a it's just big me!"
Drake responded with "Push Ups," then released "Taylor Made Freestyle," which used AI technology to include verses from Tupac and Snoop Dogg. However, Tupac's estate threatened to sue Drake over the use of Tupac's voice, so the track was removed from social media.
Kendrick Lamar responded with "Euphoria," a nearly six-and-a-half-minute track that unleashed a slew of allegations against Drake, including his skills as a rapper, use of AI, appearance, racial identity and parenting.
Drake then released "Family Matters," which alleged abuse and infidelity in Lamar's relationship with his fiancée. Lamar responded with "Meet the Grahams," which targeted Drake's family and parenting.
The beef continued with Drake releasing "The Heart Part 6," which accused Lamar of being a "predator" and made references to Lamar's personal life. Lamar's response, "Not Like Us," was seen as the final blow in the feud.