Kendrick Lamar’s “The Pop Out — Ken and Friends” concert in June broke Amazon Music’s streaming records, attracting millions of viewers. The event featured performances by upcoming West Coast artists and included shots at rival Drake, but according to Amazon, their beef did not influence the event’s organization.
Kirdis Postelle, Amazon’s global head of content and artist marketing, emphasized that the focus was on promoting culture, stating, “I don’t think that [feuding element] even came into it. We don’t take sides.” She noted that the team, including Kendrick’s, was still working out the logistics of the video on demand after the unexpected outpouring of interest.
The concert showcased performances by Bino Rideaux, Blxst, Dom Kennedy, 310babii, Roddy Ricch, BlueBucksClan, and Remble. Lamar later brought out Dr. Dre and his Black Hippy collaborators: ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock. Notable attendees included Rick Ross, The Weeknd, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan, SZA, and North West, Ye’s eldest daughter.
Amazon had a short turnaround time of 10 days to prepare for the event, ensuring that marketing, Prime Video, and Twitch were all aligned. Postelle described the effort as involving “really late nights and really early mornings” to get everything ready.
The visuals for Lamar’s “Not Like Us” were released on July 4 and have since garnered over 62 million views on YouTube.