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By Bo Tefu, Joe W. Bowers Jr., and Lila Brown | California Black Media
Celebrating Juneteenth, multi-Grammy award winning musician and Compton native Kendrick Lamar will perform at a sold-out concert from the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on June 19.
Tickets sold out almost instantly when news of the performance by the rapper the California State Senate recognized as a Generational Icon in 2015 was announced.
Fans flocked to snag tickets, some reporting they were in line behind tens of thousands of others. Demand for tickets was so high that resale prices skyrocketed, climbing up to $1,500.
Those who can’t attend in person won’t have to miss out as the concert will be livestreamed on Amazon Music. Titled “The Pop Out – Ken & Friends,” presented by pgLang and Free Lunch, the livestream will start at 4 p.m. PT and air 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,” which hip-hop fans have declared cemented his 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.
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.
Those interested in tuning in can learn more at www.amazonmusic.com.
