Kendrick Lamar took over the rap world for a couple of months this year thanks to his battle with Drake, and “Not Like Us” is the anthem that we will remember the beef through… for better or worse. No matter your thoughts on the showdown or on the song itself, you can’t deny that the track took on a new life of its own for not only Los Angeles hip-hop, but for the city of L.A. in all of its many facets. For example, the Dodgers recently used the song to celebrate their World Series win after it soundtracked their post-season. “They not like us” is certainly a phrase worthy of competitive sports, and they backed up their bravado with a dub.
However, when Kendrick Lamar explained the track’s meaning in his eyes during a conversation with SZA for Harper’s BAZAAR, fans raised their eyebrows. “Not like us? Not like us is the energy of who I am, the type of man I represent,” he stated. “Now, if you identify with the man that I represent… This man has morals, he has values, he believes in something, he stands on something. He’s not pandering. He’s a man who can recognize his mistakes and not be afraid to share the mistakes and can dig deep down into fear-based ideologies or experiences to be able to express them without feeling like he’s less of a man. If I’m thinking of ‘Not Like Us,’ I’m thinking of me and whoever identifies with that.”
Regardless of what you think of that breakdown, Kendrick Lamar’s spirit is not a new one in hip-hop, nor will it be an old one in the distant future. Ice Cube recently explained why he lyrically compared himself to K.Dot on his new song, explaining that they are both “provocative” artists.
Meanwhile, a lot of folks are excited or at least curious about Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show next year in New Orleans. Cash Money alums Juvenile and Mannie Fresh recently expressed they’d be down to join if Kendrick invites them. Maybe Lil Wayne will have a different answer considering his relationship with Drake, but in any case, fans hope that it won’t be a complete ego fest and that he pays homage to other MCs and art forms, particularly from Louisiana.
Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” continues to break records, as the Drake diss track recently became the song to spend the longest amount of time at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Rap Songs chart across the metric’s 35-year history. For those curious, the previous title defender was Lil Nas X’s 2019 breakout, “Old Town Road.” In the latest tracking week, the West Coast banger streamed 17.1 million times in the United States, garnered 2,000 digital downloads, and received 45.4 million radio audience impressions. As for the Hot 100, “Not Like Us” remains in the top ten (currently at No. 10) in its 21st consecutive week after previously topping the chart.
Furthermore, this song’s continued success is well-timed, as Kendrick Lamar recently submitted it for the Grammys next year. The categories that “Not Like Us” might be nominated for are the following: Record of the Year (production), Song of the Year (songwriting), Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, and Best Music Video. He, Future, and Metro Boomin also submitted “Like That” for consideration in all these categories, save for Best Music Video. Finally, K.Dot producer Sounwave said they also submitted “Euphoria,” but it’s unclear what categories they submitted it for consideration for.
Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”: Stream & Watch The Music Video
Not only that, but this comes as rumors currently go wild over a potential Kendrick Lamar album coming soon. This is because of a recent Bloomberg report that claims that he will go on a stadium tour next year. In addition to this supposed trek, the Compton lyricist’s Super Bowl halftime show in New Orleans next February also hints at a possible rollout on the way. Fingers crossed…
In fact, the Bloomberg report claims that both Kendrick Lamar and Rihannaturned down headlining at Coachella in 2025. While the piece attributes Kendrick’s decision to his supposedly upcoming tour and Super Bowl slot, no such explanation emerged for RiRi other than a growing business empire, plus a growing family. As such, we’re still in the dark when it comes to the pgLang creative’s next moves. But it’s clear that a lot of people are still enjoying the heck out of “Not Like Us” in the meantime.
Grammys season is upon us, and we already have a list of artists who have submitted their work for consideration at the 2025 awards ceremony. There’s Nicki Minaj with her Pink Friday 2 efforts, Beyoncé with COWBOY CARTER, Megan Thee Stallion’s MEGAN era, Doja Cat with Scarlet 2 CLAUDE… and Kendrick Lamar off of the strength of his sheer “biggest hater” title. Moreover, he submitted “Not Like Us” – and “Like That” alongside Future and Metro Boomin – for multiple categories, including Record/Song of the Year and Best Rap Song/Performance. In the case of the West Coast banger, it’s also up for Best Music Video.
With all that said, someone go hand him a Grammy right now! The Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef remains a very relevant discussion in hip-hop, even if the details these days comprise of petty IG unfollows, chart records, and a whole lot of new album speculation. It’s clear that we’ve moved on from the possibility of a Round 2 (or have we?), and that K.Dot will likely focus on other wider endeavors for his next moves and efforts.
After all, he has a Super Bowl halftime show performance to think about, too. Back to these awards, let’s clarify these Grammys submissions real quick. These aren’t nominations: think of it as a play-in tournament where committees pick between artists’ submissions and decide on the final roster of nominees, which they then deliberate over and vote on to pick a winner. We can’t help but wonder what OVO goons would prefer: a golden gramophone-less night for Kendrick Lamar whether in the nomination or award sense, or a win for him so they can call Drake a prophet for that one “Family Matters” line?
Either way, we’re hesitant to call this Kendrick Lamar’s final victory lap, only because that’s what many folks said about The Pop Out, the “Not Like Us” music video… You get it. Maybe he even sneaks a Drake jab into his upcoming movie. But whether or not this feud is finally over or still has legs, it’s undeniable that the merits of both “Not Like Us” and “Like That” are worthy of the Grammys’ praise far beyond its fighting words.
When the world found out that The Alchemist produced the beat for Kendrick Lamar’s downright terrifying Drake diss, “meet the grahams,” they immediately barraged him with questions about how it came to life. Up to this point, the producer was pretty tight-lipped about the whole situation, only letting off some jokes here and there plus vague remarks on its release. But during a new interview that surfaced online on Thursday (September 26), he went into a little more detail about the haunting song. While there are still plenty of unanswered questions, it’s still exciting to hear this glimpse into one of 2024’s most notable hip-hop moments.
“That was a gospel record. Swear to God,” The Alchemist said of Kendrick Lamar’s six-minute track. “I sent it to him beforehand and he had it for a minute. I heard it when everybody else heard it. It was a trip. Yeah, I was getting a haircut at the studio and it came on the phone. We was listening online, someone was streaming. I thought my phone was bugging. I didn’t know.” We can’t imagine that he knew what that instrumental would become when he sent it to K.Dot.
Elsewhere, Uncle Al had a lot of jokes to respond to incessant questions about the Kendrick Lamar track on Twitter. “Questlove made it known that you weren’t aware Kendrick was going to use your beat for meet the graham’s. Did it bother you that Kendrick did that? Was it okay with you that Questlove gave us that information?” a fan asked. The Alchemist replied with this: “Nah but I was extremely bothered and downright livid when I realized that all these years I did not know that Cap’n Crunch’s full name is Horatio Magellan Crunch.”
What’s more is that we know that The Alchemist feels pretty proud of this beat, and he should. He even played it at a Los Angeles club a couple of months ago, but at least he didn’t let Kendrick Lamar scare us again over it. We can only wonder what other collaborations and possible astonishments they have collecting dust in the vault, only to emerge in unexpected ways.
A clip from a sit-down between Kendrick Lamar’s engineer and Engine Ears Live is stirring up conversation. During their chat, Nicolas de Porcel retold the “amazing” procedure behind each Drake diss record during their battle. “It was a little crazy. I got a call, and it was like, ‘Stay on call, you’re gonna be working’”, Porcel began. “I would get the song and like six minutes would elapse and they’d be like, ‘How we looking?’. It was very high pressure. As Dot was releasing these records, it was like, I was turning in the masters… It would drop like 12 minutes later. It was amazing”.
Any sort of extra details about this beef are going to cause even more debate, and that’s exactly what is going on in the Xspace. According to XXL, fans are very split on whether or not de Porcel is telling the truth. Expectedly, there are a lot of skeptics out there, which is quite understandable. Many non-believers were pointing out how there is no way every fine detail was being ironed out. “You guys smoking the same crack Kendrick was in Power. It’s literally not possible to mix and master a full session at a professional level in just 30 minutes. It takes that long just to organize and label all the session stems”, one user states.
Fans Don’t See Eye To Eye On Kendrick’s Engineer Making This Claim
You guys smoking the same crack Kendrick was in Power. It’s literally not possible to mix and master a full session at a professional level in just 30 minutes. It takes that long just to organize and label all the session stems. https://t.co/hpYrdhunin
Complete bs. If the beat is already mixed, a single vocal track on a beat can be mixed in minutes. Especially if the studio has already mixed a lot of your albums, so they probably have a preset available to cut the time to a fraction.
Additionally, some weren’t agreeing due to the fact that Kendrick didn’t address anything said in “Family Matters”. “Lmao it’s literally not possible to listen to family matters, enter the studio and record meet the grahams, mix and master the track and release it all under 30 minutes, he didn’t even rebuttal anything from family matters”. Then, there are some who are pointing out that it’s totally plausible, citing Kendrick’s greatness as a result. “They are surprised the man is that good.. they trying to talk down on the genius.. too good !!!”.
What are your thoughts on Kendrick Lamar’s engineering being called out for how long the Drake diss tracks took to be put together? Whose side of the argument are you on and why? Which record is your favorite from K-Dot? We would like to hear what you have to say, so leave your thoughts in the comments. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the music world.
This year has been one of the wildest for hip-hop in quite some time. Most of that can be attributed the thrilling battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Those first few days of May where they went tit for tat with diss records was an unforgettable moment. Of course, that brief stretch included “Not Like Us”, which is seen as Kendrick’s dagger and the West Coast’s as well. The record became an instant hit, partially because of Mustard’s incredible beat. The latter has been one of the top-flight producers for a while now, notching collaborations with so many superstars. However, this Kendrick Lamar collaboration did not come as easy as the others.
The critically acclaimed beat crafter sat down with Big Boy to talk about the song, as well as The Pop Out and much more. During their hour-long sit-down, Mustard explained that he was sending Lamar beat after beat during the back-and-forth with Drake. In fact, he says it was around five a day and probably hit almost 100 in total. Ultimately though, he was not sure what would happen. Then, he received a text while driving to a baby shower, saying that the Compton rapper dropped another diss track. Shortly after, Mustard said he got another message that read one of the best quotables from the song, “‘Mustard on the beat ho’”.
He told Big Boy he was all sorts of confused, “I’m like ‘Wtf did I miss?’ And that’s how I heard the song on the 405 freeway, driving, and I start spazzing…listening to it over and over. I couldn’t believe it”, Mustard explained. Even though, he is a fantastic producer, the Los Angeles, California native can now say he is a part of a historical moment in the genre’s history. Mustard is doing a great job of capitalizing on this, as he is dropping his new album, Faith Of A Mustard Seed, on July 26.
What are your thoughts on how Mustard heard “Not Like Us” for the first time? Is this one of the best diss tracks of all time, why or why not? Where does this beat rank for Mustard’s discography? Will this become the most iconic diss record ever? We would like to hear what you have to say, so leave your thoughts in the comments. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding Mustard and Kendrick Lamar. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the music world.
In wake of the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef, it appears the kid from Compton, California has come out on top. There will be a few staunch Drake fans that will swear that he indeed reigns supreme. But most hip-hop fans would come to the conclusion that K-Dot laid the smack down on the Canadian wonder kid. Many were of the opinion that he earned the W after dropping “meet the grahams,” and that “Not Like Us” was just him dancing on his grave. Drake stans will pop out every now and again to say that he is still the superior rapper because of the numbers he puts up when he drops. However, people siding with Kendrick can argue that point too after they hear about his Drake diss streams.
A post from the X account Kurrco has just surfaced and the daily plays Lamar is raking in is absolutely absurd. The data shows that on Spotify, all of the diss records are pulling in nearly 50% of those numbers. To be exact, the final percentage sits at an astounding 43.8% The same user revealed that Kendrick dwarfs Drake’s, which sits at a measly 7.9% To be fair to The Boy, he only uploaded “Push Ups” and “Family Matters” to Spotify.
These stats make a lot of sense, as “Not Like Us,” “euphoria,” “Like That,” and “meet the grahams,” all sit in his top 10 most popular. Furthermore, if you head over to the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Kendrick claims three spots in the top 10 in that department as well. Every one of the aforementioned tracks, excluding “meet the grahams” are at number one, three, and six, respectively. “Not Like Us,” which sees Dot beat Drake at his own game by creating a brutal diss hit, debuted at number one and has over 121 million streams.
What are your thoughts on Kendrick Lamar receiving almost half of his streaming numbers from Drake diss tracks? Do you this is just further proof that he won the beef, why or why not? Which of the records is your favorite, and which is the best? Are you shocked that Drake’s number as so much lower? We would like to hear what you have to say, so be sure to leave your takes in the comments section. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the music world.
The whole world is playing “Not Like Us” like wild, and Kendrick Lamar continues to not only stake his claim of victory in his battle against Drake, but get the charts on his side in the process. Moreover, there is now another metric in which this diss track exhibited staggering commercial success, a tight race to get the crown for considering how well all of these tracks are streaming. “Not Like Us” topped various streaming charts in the 6ix God’s home country, including Apple Music’s Top 100: Canada chart and Spotify’s Daily Top Songs Canada chart. Among the top five and top ten in these lists are “Family Matters” and “Euphoria” (the second-most streamed song in Drizzy’s home city of Toronto, with “not Like Us” at number three), as well as previous officially streamable diss tracks like “Meet The Grahams” and “Push Ups” that traveled the charts over time.
Furthermore, this is all very impressive and it would almost be an objective win for Kendrick Lamar… if numbers mattered at all in rap beef. There’s still plenty of debate between pgLang die-hards and OVO soldiers over who truly won the battle, but both sides are conceding some pretty unreasonable points from their own camp. For example, DJ Akademiks thinks that people claiming K.Dot stole his “Not Like Us” bars from Twitter are reaching too far. On the other hand, many Kendrick fans refuse to give Drake the proper credit for being a very formidable lyrical opponent, and dishonestly claim it was more of a blowout than it was.
Of course, this battle is technically not over yet, although if it isn’t, we hope that it manifests in bars and music rather than the real life direction that recent occurrences in Drake’s Bridle Path neighborhood have suggested (with no confirmed connection to this beef). That should never be the result of rap feuds no matter who it’s coming from, so maybe it would be best if it ended here. Kendrick Lamar and The Boy had an incredible tit-for-tat, albeit one that spread a lot of misinformation and has compromised both of their public images in exploitative and potentially harmful ways as far as women’s trauma is concerned. But such is the ugliness of hip-hop beef, a formula that we can hopefully keep away from these extremes as we reckon with it in a social media age.
Meanwhile, do you still think we’re on the battlefield or do you have a winner to crown? What’s been your favorite song to come out of all this? Whatever the case, let us know down in the comments section below. Also, check back in with HNHH for the latest news and updates on Kendrick Lamar and Drake.
Have you ever thought we, as fans, were working for Kendrick Lamar and Drake? For many in the rap world, Drake and Kendrick’s place as leaders in hip-hop’s commercial space couldn’t be less different. The former is a reclusive and reluctant “savior” of the genre’s traditions with massive acclaim for his album output. In contrast, the latter is an inescapable juggernaut that pushed rap forward and offered some of the genre’s (and frankly, contemporary music’s) most accessible and successful hits. However, their differences don’t mean much when considering that they are playing the same game. It’s two different types of shots at the goal of rap’s throne in the commercial mainstream, two different headliners on the culture’s biggest stages, and two transcendent artistries that make record labels detached from the culture a whole lot of money.
However, perhaps the saddest similarity between Kendrick Lamar and Drake is that they’ve cultivated equally obsessive corners of their larger fanbases that made their current feud of mutually assured lyrical destruction a whole lot messier. We’re not talking about casual fans or fans of both or those who don’t care at all, and this isn’t (fully) an Animal Farm-core “it was impossible to say which was which” take. Stans of either MC are easily distinguishable if only going off of their taste; if they like one and dislike the other, that doesn’t define one’s character. We’re talking about these die-hards that are just as susceptible to spreading bot rumors, fake tweets, personal attacks, and dismissals void of earnestness against their fave’s opponent as they are to ignore these same claims against their champion blindly. They’re not the real problem in this beef, but they are exposing it.
For one, the only rappers truly capable of avoiding any opponent’s smoke are the top dogs, and Drake and Kendrick Lamar are unique in that regard. Sadly, many lyricists can continue a career with horrific allegations against them. But only a few across history have ever truly “survived” a rap beef loss against one of the greats, something that both K.Dot and Drizzy risked with their back-and-forth. As much as To Pimp A Butterfly and If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late operate on different realms, their alchemy produces the same potions. Hit records, cultural ubiquity, respect for their penmanship, brand partnerships, business ventures, and so much more through the capitalist structure of hip-hop’s kiosk in the cultural marketplace. Their acceptance in the culture is very different, but that hasn’t impacted their fanbases or success.
Drake faced a lot of unfair criticism in old-school hip-hop thought but persevered regardless to lead new generations. Kendrick Lamar is astonished on both sides but with lots of “overrated” shots at his rap style, deliveries, concepts, or less accessible material that doesn’t pass the car test. But every single metric can be levied at the opposing side’s fans. No Mr. Morale fan cared much about numbers in comparison to The Boy until these disses, and no OVO supporter believed still-present botting claims from unknown parties until they came against their captain’s rival. Everyone’s reaching for a sextuple entendre or clowning any attempts to do so for the other side. Kendrick fans are trying to beat him in a “Drake hating” competition, and Drake fans act like the support behind the biggest artist in the world is something that the world is always turning against.
That perspective quickly manifested in ugly ways. Now fans stood by fake Drake tweets, misreadings of “Mother I Sober” and “DUCKWORTH.,” presumptions about relationships with young women, and Instagram follows and real estate as hard evidence for cheating and fatherhood, all of which perpetuates female trauma as talking points to accuse. It’s a narrative war now, but we don’t have the luxury of foreseeing a future in which these claims don’t become a much darker foreshadowing or reckoning, and nobody wants to see another Black man fall to the prison system. After all, the 6ix God’s neighborhood was recently the victim of a reported shooting, in which an alleged security guard was struck. No rap beef should go this far, but fans unwittingly contribute to this warped misinterpretation that could lead to disaster.
That’s not to say that Kendrick Lamar or Drake shouldn’t be held accountable for these alleged crimes if true. But who wants rap beef to bring about violence or lawsuits as a “Gotcha”? Fans’ completely unabashed engagement with the ugly parts of these suppositions becomes moot when you consider that many of these skeletons were already out of the closet.
No tweet from Kendrick’s partner’s brother or testimony from an alleged Drake victim can change that we knew about Kendrick’s team threatening to pull music from Spotify in support of XXXTENTACION and other possibly removed artists (which the team called a double standard callout) or that we already saw that Denver concert video or heard the nature of Drake’s texts to Millie Bobby Brown, talking to her about boys and missing her. Either way, fans blindly stand behind an allegedly terrible person, which isn’t damnation until they engage in selective outrage.
Why Kendrick Lamar & Drake Are The Problem Fans Are Self-Exposing
But this celebrity culture trap refuses to distinguish art and character. Kendrick Lamar fans and Drake fans are one and the same because, when the other side argues against their fave’s opponent, it feels like they are talking to themselves instead of the music. They want validation in their righteousness because they connect with “Money Trees,” and they want to flaunt success against all opposition because they remember the “Marvin’s Room” days. Because victory would be saying something about themselves. There’s nothing wrong with art connecting to you despite its circumstances, but those circumstances are a much more important part of your life than the music itself is. As such, making that distinction and accepting that support of art doesn’t replace actual values would save many of these reaching fans from letting the art blind their hearts.
There can still be a “winner” if we fully embrace the kayfabe of it all, and in that art-driven regard, Kendrick seems to have taken the crown by rap’s metrics as a culture and art form. Like he said, he is not our savior. It’s also important to note that these two predominantly white fanbases on rap’s biggest stage represent the industry-wide problem of exploiting Black art, relationship issues, financial success, political strife, or cultural imposter syndrome for a sense of superiority. The artists are either “the villain” or “one of the good ones,” but neither take from this sub-sect of fans engages with more important issues at hand. Drake and Kendrick Lamar know this too well and effectively leveraged these statuses in this beef one way or another. They fed these specific, terminally online fans the information as master manipulators. They are not like us.
There’s a difference between mixing up a person’s name and mixing up a story. Some might consider it a minor difference but it does not excuse one slip-up in the face of another, especially when there are much more serious allegations that neither Drake nor Kendrick Lamar have addressed. On the former’s explosive new diss track “The Heart Part 6,” he claims that he planted false information about a daughter that K. Dot ran with on “Meet The Grahams,” doubled down on domestic violence claims and the idea that his manager Dave Free impregnated his high school sweetheart, Whitney Alford, whom Kendrick shares two children with, and alleged a clout-chasing album rollout. Finally, the Toronto MC theorized that the reason why Kendrick made predator claims is because the pgLang creative experienced sexual abuse as a child, and deflected that pain onto his enemy.
To make something clear, mocking victims is an especially nasty and diminishing tactic in rap beef, as are allegations of predatory behavior without concrete evidence. But Drake attempted to back up this angle by referencing “Mother I Sober,” the penultimate song from Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, which is where the real problem lies. What actually “happens” on this track, what did Drizzy fail to understand, and if this mistake was on purpose, what’s he really addressing?
2022’s “Mother I Sober” is one of the more cutting songs on that Kendrick Lamar album, as it narrates the depths of generational trauma. In the song, Kendrick specifically details how his mother didn’t believe him when he denied that his cousin molested him before revealing that she was a victim of abuse herself. “Family ties, they accused my cousin, ‘Did he touch you, Kendrick?‘ / Never lied, but no one believed me when I said ‘He didn’t’” and “I asked my momma why she didn’t believe me when I told her ‘No’ / I never knew she was violated in Chicago, I’m sympathetic / Told me that she feared it happened to me, for my protection / Though it never happened, she wouldn’t agree” are the specific lines that detail this.
As such, Drake either didn’t really listen to the song or suggests that Kendrick Lamar lied and experienced sexual assault. “My mom came over today and I was like, ‘Mother, I… Mother, I… Mother / Ah, wait a second, that’s that one record where you say you got molested.” In the latter’s case, he’d be questioning Kendrick’s mother’s testimony, as well. This gives the following “Euphoria” bar even more weight since there’s a literal misunderstanding here: “Fabricating stories on the family front ’cause you heard ‘Mr. Morale.’” It’s important to understand that this is all a narrative game now. Still, one’s vulnerable confessions carry a much more different and earnest tone than one’s failed reading comprehension skills.
This comes with at least a few caveats, as does everything else involved in this beef. Both of these artists are making unverified claims against the other, and misunderstanding a song does not equate to failing to address domestic violence allegations. The difference is that when Drake claims there are no famous pedophiles and that all of these accusations against him are false, he really shot himself in the foot again by minimizing victims’ experiences as petty retribution when he should be combating that narrative on all fronts. He’s having a worst-person-off with Kendrick Lamar, especially when he specifically addresses some things and then leaves other significant points, like accusations against the OVO camp and colonizer claims, unspoken.
All in all, this is rap beef: things get disrespectful, and the only fair comparison point is judging the art and the strategy. Regardless of what’s true and what isn’t, Dot’s narrative-building by dropping versatile and relentless disses, plus his catalog and Mr. Morale‘s particular focus on accountability, have effectively diffused many character attacks against him. Drake, almost equally relentless, has been dealing with groomer accusations for years without ever addressing them significantly, and misrepresenting “Mother I Sober” on his “facts” crusade is not notable for its disrespect, but for failing to dissect and learn who his opponent is, which Kendrick succeeded in doing. They both must address the horrible allegations against them with proof. But if all the proof that the 6ix God can offer is a faulty Genius read and Twitter talking points, Kendrick Lamar keeps his hold on the narrative.
”. Then, there are some who are pointing out that it’s totally plausible, citing Kendrick’s greatness as a result. “They are surprised the man is that good.. they trying to talk down on the genius.. too good !!!”.
(@The_Yng_Sinatra)