Kendrick Lamar is back on top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts, as “Not Like Us” returned to the No. 1 spot this week after the release of its music video. Moreover, it becomes his longest-running chart-topper with two weeks, and it follows shifts within the top ten of the charts since the song’s initial release. Specifically, it was at number three last week, and shuffled between spots two and six in the eight weeks between its two chart-topping weeks. All in all, this goes to show that there is still a lot of interest in bumping this song over and over, and we’ll see how long the hype lasts.
Furthermore, whether or not you think that Kendrick Lamar and company are “milking” this Drake beef and “Not Like Us,” it seems like most people are just content with enjoying the moment and the song instead of roping in Drizzy into everything. For example, Kendrick supporter and fellow West Coaster Wack 100 chose to recently talked about the music video itself, arguing that there’s still a lot of gang unity needed in Los Angeles that this video couldn’t achieve. As such, everyone’s got this moment in the rearview mirror still: we’re not fully demanding more, but we’re not wholly forgetting about it anytime soon, either.
Also, this comes as “Not Like Us” is possibly gaining life as an anti-Kendrick Lamar sentiment, at least according to fans. Die-hards were quick to comment on Lil Wayne singing the hook of the song during a recent performance of the Drake collab “The Motto,” and he sang “They not like us” while seemingly holding his OVO pendant. Did Weezy say that to troll K.Dot and use his words against him or is he just singing the hook for fun and making light of the battle? Either way, conspiracy theories and hypothetical rap battle matchups are rampant.
Meanwhile, we’ll see whether or not Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” will have more chart-topping weeks, or if this is its last breath as a No. 1 hit. We’re sure people will still play the track regardless, so we’ll see how far they can take it. As folks learn of his and Dave Free’s creative process for pgLang, there’s a lot of excitement over what could come next. So let’s strap in, keep enjoying this West Coast banger if we want to, and wait patiently for the next astonishment.
At the height of Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s tussle on tracks, fans wondered where why Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj didn’t publicly chime in. Well, yesterday (July 13) after not uttering a word about the beef, Lil Wayne appeared to subtly shown his support for his Young Money Records mentee.
During a performance in Zouk Nightclub, one of the homes of his official Las Vegas residency, Lil Wayne remixed Kendrick Lamar’s diss track aimed at Drake, “Not Like Us.”
As Lil Wayne and Drake’s 2011 collaboration “The Motto” played in the background, Weezy held up his OVO chain as he rapped, “They not like us.” Although it was a kind gesture, users online have taken the act to be a subtle co-sign of Kendrick Lamar, given his reference of the pair’s one-time lovers’ triangle.
“Damn bro, even Wayne is mad at Drake,” penned one user.
Lil Wayne and Drake go way back, which is why fans have been anxious to hear him weigh in on Drizzy’s viral feud with Kendrick Lamar. He hasn’t said much of anything, though recently, he seemingly reaffirmed his loyalty to the Toronto hitmaker during a performance. In a clip making its rounds online, he’s seen spitting some lyrics from Kendrick’s hit “Not Like Us.” As he did so, he proudly held up his OVO owl pendant.
Of course, the clip has sparked a major discussion in DJ Akademiks’ comments section, as fans debate whether or not this was shade aimed at Kendrick. While some think it’s a stretch, others are convinced that it was a direct diss. After all, he incorporated the lyrics into “The Motto,” his wildly successful Drake collab.
Many also suspect that Lil Wayne was actually saying “They don’t like us” rather than “They not like us,” though it’s difficult to tell based on the clip alone. Either way, this latest stunt has commenters curious about what would happen if Lil Wayne went up against Kendrick. As expected, this debate has fans split too.
While Lil Wayne has yet to address the lyrical battle directly, it’s not the first time in recent weeks he’s shown love to Drake. Late last month, for example, he shared a list of his top five rappers during an interview. He named Drake, Jay-Z, Eminem, Missy Elliot, and The Notorious B.I.G. Kendrick didn’t make the cut. What do you think of Lil Wayne rapping Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” lyrics onstage while holding up his OVO pendant? Do you think this was a direct Kendrick diss or not? What do you think would happen if he were to go up against Kendrick? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
On his official Instagram page, Drake uploaded an image of himself sporting a t-shirt with the line: “Rap is a joke.” Below the image, Drake added a cryptic caption.
“The pressure from being on top does more than just make your ears pop,” read the post.
In the comment section of Drake’s post, followers showed their support with uplifting messages. But over on X (formerly Twitter), users called out the “Family Matters” rapper for being a poor sport after losing the lyrical feud against Kendrick Lamar.
“He’s just mad he lost his rap beef. LOL,” wrote one user.
The $20 printed top is a signature merch item from Bay Area duo Rap Is A Joke (Frank Stacks and L-$) that creates parody pieces around hip-hop culture. Could this be Drake’s response to Kendrick Lamar’s “You think the Bay gonna let you disrespect Pac n*****” line on “Not Like Us?”
LL Cool J has making the rounds in promotion of his new album. One of the most consistent talking points for the rapper, outside of his own music, is the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar battle. LL has beefed with his fair share of rappers in the past. His POV is useful, and oftentimes insightful. He once again talked about the Drake vs. Lamar battle during a recent interview with Charlamagne tha God. This time, though, he gave advice to Drake, in particular.
LL and Charlamagne talked about rap beef more broadly before the former narrowed the focus to Drake and Kendrick Lamar. “Drake,” he said. “That ‘Not Like Us‘ sh*t, that sh*t’s torture for a motherf*cker. Ah sh*t, little kids singing to it. You know that sh*t’s bananas.” LL Cool J had a good laugh over the success of the Kendrick Lamar song, but he also expressed sympathy for Drake. “You’ll be fine, bro,” he assured the 6 God. “Don’t even trip. “You just don’t take it personal… You can’t be overly sensitive.” LL Cool J admitted that he’s been in a similar situation, where he was forced to stomach a song that was made at his expense. “I get it,” he told Charlamagne. “I been there, I know it. It can be upsetting… But you gotta control that.”
LL Cool J crowned Kendrick Lamar the winner of the battle during a recent Hot 97 interview. He went as far as to suggest that Drake stepping to Compton’s own was a bad idea. That being said, LL was high on Drake’s performance within the battle. “Both of them are super talented, they both did great,” he told the host. “It ain’t like Drake completely and utterly played himself…” LL also gave both rappers their flowers, and noted what the battle will do for both of their legacies. “Both of their names will be etched in history because of it,” he asserted.
LL Cool J is on the other side of his career, however. He told Charlamagne that he’s trying to be positive towards his peers. “I don’t even wanna go there,” he explained. “I wanna keep things positive energy. No problem, no fake tough guy bullsh*t.” LL backed up his claims by clearing up the long-standing rumor that he had beef with JAY-Z. He admitted that the two men exchanged bars back in 1996, but claimed that he lyrically spent after coming off an album cycle. LL also denied throwing subs at JAY on his song “Loungin.’”
Many would like to argue that the Drake-Kendrick Lamar beef is getting dragged out; perhaps there is some truth to this. We live in a time when attention spans are limited to seconds, and scandals rapidly riddle the newsfeed one headline after another. It’s hard to keep track of anything, really. However, this situation is an anomaly when applying Drake’s mother’s 72-hour rule. “My mom said to me, ‘You know what, you’ll go to sleep tonight, you’ll wake up and it’ll still bother you. Then you’ll go to sleep again and you’ll wake up and it’ll bother you a little less. And then on the third day, you’ll wake up and someone else will have done something stupid enough that everyone will forget,’” he once told Zane Lowe.
“That’s the 72-hour rule. I’ve learned to control my emotions for those first two or three days. That’s why I don’t run to social media and start yapping about my anger or my frustration, I let it sit, and it always goes away.” It’s sage advice that clearly didn’t stick in recent years. It, unfortunately, wouldn’t have been effective in this beef had Drake simply ignored the releases of Future and Metro Boomin’s back-to-back albums, We Don’t Trust You and We Still Don’t Trust You, that were practically dedicated to a universal disdain towards the Canadian rapper.
The online discourse and industry chatter probably left pressure on Drake’s shoulders to respond at a time when he admitted to needing a break to prioritize his health. And ultimately, if he didn’t bite the bait, he likely wouldn’t have been able to live this moment down. It was a lose-lose situation, but no one could’ve predicted the avalanche of diss records to emerge in the span of a few days, nor the damage it would inflict on Drake.
But does it really matter? Public perception is easily swayed. Many doubted Drake before “Push Ups,” yet it set the tone for the trajectory of the battle. However, subsequent efforts, such as “Taylor Made Freestyle”, backfired and put an even bigger lens on Drake’s motives as an artist within hip-hop. Is his participation to help grow the culture or leech off it? Questions like these linger in the back of minds these days. Whether or not you’re convinced that “Family Matters” is the best song to emerge from the exchange if only due to his lengthy run-time, numerous targets, and beat switches, you can’t deny that the “Drake stimulus” has decreased in value, culturally and commercially.
If Drake is the MC I imagine he can be. Redemption is not off the table.
A loss of this magnitude never felt feasible for one of the biggest recording artists whose persona has been protected by an invincible shield. That’s especially the case following his bounce back post-Pusha T, where he dominated the summer with hits after effectively throwing in the towel. But, anyone with a working pair of ears could agree that since Scorpion, and maybe even before then, there was a decline in quality in exchange for prolificity. So when Ab-Soultweeted, “If Drake is the MC I imagine he can be, redemption is not off the table,” it didn’t immediately feel like some sort of ulterior motive to bait Drake or even a shot from the opposing team. Ab-Soul’s analysis felt like one of a rapper’s rapper and a student of hip-hop. After all, it didn’t take long for old tweets to surface of Ab-Soul singing Drake’s praises over a decade ago.
So, it seemed rather odd for B. Dot to respond to Soul’s tweets, writing, “The disrespect is disturbing.” “Disturbing” more accurately describes the allegations that both Kendrick Lamar and Drake dished at each other. But, B. Dot later clarified that he felt a type of way about the “condescending” tone of Soul’s comments before arguing that Drake has played a vital role in hip-hop for the past decade. “It’s backhanded praise! rap game caught amnesia the past two months,” B. Dot wrote in response to Soul claiming that Drake “could never Fucc wit da Gang ‘Nem on sum rap shyt.”
it’s backhanded praise! rap game caught amnesia the past two months. https://t.co/hUCjqhcR51
Let’s be real: Drake’s place in history is cemented. You nor I could ever strip that away from him, and the music he’s made plays a defining role in how hip-hop and pop music overlapped in the past decade. Not to mention, he’s also been a connective tissue between hip-hop and R&B for just as long. Despite this beef, Drake reportedly maintained his position as the highest-streamed artist on Spotify in June.
At the end of the day, that’s Drake’s greatest strength: creating accessible music for the masses that could be enjoyed in any setting. He’s become a ubiquitous force in hip-hop who hasn’t let his foot off the gas in the past 15 years. Within that time, he’s already set scary precedents that have become norms, whether the allegations of using a ghostwriter or the AI Tupac verse from “Taylor Made Freestyle.” For clarity, the issue isn’t about the collaborative process behind his songwriting prowess; we know he can write when he wants to. It’s ultimately about his perceived respect towards the craftsmanship and those who’ve laid the foundation of his success. Spinning a G-Unit chain in a music video or spending $1M on Tupac’s ring feels more sinister in retrospect.
So, whether Ab-Soul was being condescending or B. Dot’s simply stunned to see Drake’s fall, it was an inevitable outcome for an artist who has oversaturated the market with his presence and spread himself thin. Akademiks, Capella Grey, or anyone else can claim that Drake is about to light up the summer with a banger, but for that to happen, he’ll need to revamp the secret formula. That in and of itself takes time. It’ll take longer than 72 hours to forget the irreparable damage done to his career in the past two months but the best thing for Drake to do is keep to his original plans and take time away from the public eye. Without allowing himself to be missed, Drake fatigue will persist on a mass scale.
Yesterday (July 11), a company the Compton native is all too familiar with came forward to thank him for his service to the city. During a chat with TMZ, the owner of Tam’s Burgers, Spiro Vovos, promised Kendrick an all-you-can-eat lifetime pass at the establishment after being featured in the song’s official music video.
“Anything he wants it is on the house,” he said. That surely includes Kendrick’s usual bacon cheeseburger.
Although Vovos’ cooking didn’t jump-start Kendrick’s love for the restaurant, he does have the family recipe. “My grandfather probably was the one feeding him growing up,” he said. “We’re [just] so lucky and very thankful for him and his team.”
As for how the scenes came to be, Vovos shined light on that too. “Kendrick’s team [called] and asked if he could come back and film a music video,” he said. “He’s been here before, and [so] of course, I’m going to say yes. He’s such a big icon to Compton and to this whole community. So, we didn’t think twice.”
Following Kendrick’s video, which featured multiple shots at the restaurant, Vovos said they show a 40% sales increase. Now, should Kendrick wish to drop in for burgers, a breakfast combo, or any other side dishes, he won’t have to worry about a thing (not that he had to before but still).
Kendrick hasn’t responded to the public declaration, but it seems too finger-licking good to pass up.
The 2024 ESPY Awards went down last night (July 11), and even there, at a sports event he didn’t attend, Drake was not safe. He’s had a target on his back ever since the Kendrick Lamar feud and success of the “Not Like Us” diss track, and ESPYs host Serena Williams took her shot.
What Did Serena Williams Say About Drake At The 2024 ESPYs?
During her monologue, Williams said, “If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that none of us, not even me, should ever pick a fight with Kendrick Lamar.” A brief clip of “Not Like Us” then played over the PA and Williams did a bit of dancing. She continued, “He will make your hometown not like you. The next time Drake sits courtside at a [Toronto] Raptors game, they’re going to Forest Gump him: ‘Seat’s taken.’”
Serena Williams crip waking to ‘Not Like Us’ and clowning Drake on stage at the ESPYs pic.twitter.com/y3CUZGmYWO
Meanwhile, Eminem just addressed Lamar and some other rappers on his new album The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), saying on “Renaissance,” “Now just travel inside the mind of a hater / ‘Cause I don’t see no fans, all I see’s a bunch of complainers / ‘Kendrick’s album was cool but it didn’t have any bangers’ / ‘Wayne’s album or Ye’s, couldn’t tell you which one was lamer’ / ‘Joyner’s album was corny, Shady’s new sh*t is way worse’ / ‘Everything is either too tame or there’s too much anger’ / ‘I didn’t like the beef so I hated Might Delete Later‘ / You nerdy pricks would find something wrong with 36 Chambers.”
Drake has been haunted by Kendrick Lamar’s smash hit “Not Like Us.” Overall, this was the biggest song in their beef, and it remains one of the biggest songs in the entire world. Moreover, Kendrick just dropped a music video for the track. If anything, this song still has legs, once and the marching bands get a hold of it during college football season, it will only become that much more popular. Having said all of that, some people are starting to get tired of the song.
Some of this discourse took place last night during the televising of the ESPY Awards. Serena Williams was hosting the show, and at one point, she made a joke about “Not Like Us” and why you should never beef with Kendrick Lamar. She also danced to the song and it was seen as a troll in Drake’s direction. Not everyone was a fan of this bit, including one of the artist’s recent collaborators. Below, you can see that producer BNYX tweeted about Williams, saying “this shit is getting old and corny.”
A couple of decades ago, songs would last for months on end. In the streaming era, songs die off extremely fast now. Having said that, it is easy to see why someone might be growing tired of “Not Like Us.” After all, most songs don’t get consistent play for two months straight anymore. However, it’s clear that “Not Like Us” is a bonafide hit and it would have been regardless of the shots at Drake. Good music will always be just that.
Let us know what you think of these comments from BNYX, in the comments section down below. Do you agree that the popularity of the song has gotten out of hand? Do you believe what Serena Williams did at the ESPYs was corny? Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news and updates from around the music world. We will continue to keep you informed on all of your favorite artists and their upcoming projects.
In 2016, Drake hosted the ESPYs. He was praised for his performance and comedic timing. In 2024, however, Serena Williams made the ESPYs an anti-Drake affair. The tennis superstar took the stage during the event and addressed the elephant in the room. She was referenced (positively) in the diss track “Not Like Us,” and she gave the love right back to Kendrick Lamar by dancing to the stage in the middle of her speech. Serena Williams also suggested that Drake is going to have a difficult time living the song down.
Serena Williams was the host for the 2024 ESPYS, so the chances were high that she was going to make a joke about the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar battle. She didn’t waste any time. “If I’ve learned anything this year,” she noted. “Its that none of us should ever pick a fight with Kendrick Lamar…” The song “Not Like Us” then kicked in, and Williams danced while the crowd looked on in delight. The real blow was dealt after the song came to an end, though. Serena Williams then used Drake as an example of what can happen when someone challenges K. Dot. “He will make your hometown not like you,” she explained. “The next time Drake sits courtside at a Raptors game, they’re gonna Forest Gump him, seats taken…”
Serena Williams And Drake Were Romantically Linked For Years
Serena Williams just crip walked at the ESPY Awards to ‘Not Like Us’ making fun of Drake
“and if I’ve learned anything this year, its that none of us should ever pick a fight with Kendrick Lamar… he will make your hometown not like you, the next time Drake sits courtside at a… pic.twitter.com/KAwTdm4uWR
Serena Williams and Drake have a complicated personal history. They were seen together throughout 2011, which is when rumors swirled that the two were dating. Their friendship lasted several years, and the two allegedly left the 2015 US Open semi-finals together. Williams and Drake ended their friendship sometime before 2017, as the former married Alexis Ohanian and welcomed a child. Drake is believed to address the split in the song “Nothings Into Somethings.” The rapper also took aim at Ohanian in “Middle of the Ocean” from 2022. “Sidebar,” he raps. “Serena, your husband a groupie. He claim we don’t got a problem but. No, boo, it is like you comin’ for sushi.”
Serena Williams wasn’t a fan of Drake’s bars. Neither was Kendrick Lamar, evidently. He blasted Drake for talking badly about the tennis icon on the aforementioned “Not Like Us.” The bond between K. Dot and Williams tracks, given their shared Compton upbringing. “I’m glad DeRoz’ came home, y’all didn’t deserve him neither,” Dot spits. “From Alondra down to Central, n**ga better not speak on Serena.” Drake’s trash-talking came back to haunt him, and Williams just handed him another embarrassing moment on a stage he once dominated.
(@RememberTiff) 
,” asked one user.
. Him and Ab Soul are trying to reignite the beef. I guess. LOL,” wrote one user. 
(@nojumper)
(@lovepopgirls) 
,” penned another.
(@arianaunext) 
miller (@bdotTM) 
