Kendrick Lamar Tells Drake To Give 2Pac’s Ring Back: “I Might Give You A Lil’ Respect”
It all went down at the Kia Forum at the Juneteenth celebration “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends” on Wednesday night (June 19).
The Kia Forum in Los Angeles was bursting with electric energy on Juneteenth (June 19), when Kendrick Lamar hit the stage for “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends” concert.
The stacked bill included a surprise performance by Dr. Dre as well as appearances from Westside Boogie, Jay Rock, Tyler, The Creator, YG, Baby Keem, ScHoolBoy Q, Mustard, Roddy Rich and more. Within hours, Kendrick was a trending Twitter (X) topic after he changed some of the lyrics to his now-infamous Drake diss “euphoria.” On the original, K. Dot raps about Drake buying one of 2Pac’s rings, but on the altered version, he says, “Give me 2Pac’s ring back and I might give you a lil respect.”
Whether in person, watching live on Amazon Music or simply catching clips online, fans were elated that Kendrick was still taking shots at his current foe. Making the moment even more monumental was the fact Kendrick was wearing the same type of outfit 2Pac wore to the 1994 Source Awards: a red sweatshirt, white t-shirt, cross pendant and baggy blue jeans.
Of course, the jokes were flowing, too. There were several people who predicted Kendrick would bring 2Pac or “2Pac’s ghost” out to perform “California Love.” Instead, Dr. Dre joined Kendrick for the 1995 track and Kendrick rapped 2Pac’s lyrics much to the crowd’s excitement.
Drake purchased 2Pac’s iconic gold, ruby and diamond crown ring on in July 2023 at a Sotheby’s auction for $1 million. 2Pac fashioned the rubies and diamonds set in gold after the crowns of the medieval kings of Europe in ‘an act of self-coronation,’” according to 2Pac’s godmother, Yaasmyn Fula. The design was also a nod to Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince, which 2Pac read in prison.
As for the Kendrick connection, the former TDE rapper made it a point to address Drake’s use of artificial intelligence to emulate 2Pac’s voice for “Taylor Made Freestyle,” one of multiple diss tracks traded between the two. As he rapped on “Not Like Us” last month: “You think the Bay gon’ let you disrespect Pac, n####?/I think that Oakland show gon’ be your last stop, n####.”
Kendrick Lamar has consistently expressed the immense respect he has for 2Pac, which was more than evident during the “Pop Out.” Drake? Not so much. He performed “Not Like Us” five times in a row.
