Kendrick Lamar marked his return to the stage after his feud with Drake with a Juneteenth blowout. The Inglewood, California concert, titled "The Pop Out: Ken & Friends," celebrated West Coast hip-hop. Over three and a half hours, Lamar and 25 other West Coast artists, including Tyler, the Creator, YG, and Dr. Dre, performed a massive 60-song set. The night featured a reunion of Black Hippy, with Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and ScHoolboy Q joining Lamar on stage. He performed four of his five Drake diss tracks, closing out the show with six consecutive performances of "Not Like Us," a moment sure to be etched in hip-hop history.

Click here for a Spotify playlist with the songs mentioned in this newsletter.

The 50 Best Songs of 2024 (So Far) ✨

2024 is already halfway through, and it's time to unveil our picks for the best songs of the first half of the year. We've narrowed it down to a top 50 list. Check out a few of our favorites below, and head to Spotify for the full list!

42. SZA, Saturn (Neo-Soul)

31. ScHoolboy Q, Blueslides (Drumless Rap)

20. Tommy Richman, MILLION DOLLARY BABY (Contemporary R&B)

12. Vampire Weekend, Capricorn (Indie Rock)

2. Chappell Roan, Good Luck, Babe! (Synthpop)

BIGGEST Songs of the Week 📈

In 1998, R&B songstresses Brandy and Monica captivated the culture with their instant-classic “The Boy Is Mine”, a Darkchild-produced track about the singers fighting for ownership of a two-timing man. The song spent 13 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and, ironically enough, its success was buoyed by a tabloid-driven feud between the two singers. There were rumors they couldn’t even be in the same room together and that their hatred reached a fever pitch so high it led to a physical altercation moments before they performed the song together at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards.