Kendrick Lamar Releases Music Video for “Not Like Us,” the Song That Attacks Drake

The video, eagerly awaited by fans, has been viewed more than 24 million times in 24 hours. It marks a new stage in the war between the two stars of the hip-hop industry.

Kendrick Lamar drives the point home. The rapper released the video for his song on Friday, July 5 Not Like Us in which he attacks his rival, the Canadian Drake. The two hip-hop stars dug up the hatchet, sending each other barbs through songs at the beginning of May.

The Californian had drawn the last one, with the title Not Like Us in which he made a serious accusation against Drake: “Certified lover [en référence à un titre d’album de Drake]… Certified pedophile.” He also called his rival “colonizer”judging that the Canadian uses other rappers (Future, Young Thug) to establish his credibility. A hit on streaming platforms, particularly on Spotify where it has more than 440 million listens, the title is now accompanied by a music video, partly filmed in Compton, his home neighborhood.

This video, directed by Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free, was highly anticipated and has been viewed more than 24 million times in 24 hours. It obviously includes references to the clash between the two rivals. We see Kendrick Lamar hitting a piñata in the shape of an owl, the symbol of Drake’s label, OVO. This scene is accompanied by a message: “No OVO was harmed in the making of this video.” At another point we see an owl locked in a cage.

All of the owl references

The owl goes from being a representation of the label as a piñata to an embodiment of Drake himself as a living animal. pic.twitter.com/anmOo74AwP

— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) July 5, 2024

Kendrick Lamar is seen with his family, his girlfriend Whitney Alford, and their two children. A response to Drake’s accusations, who, in his song Family Mattersinsinuated that the California rapper had been violent towards his wife and that Dave Free, the leader of Kendrick Lamar’s label, was in fact the father of one of his children.

The clip also features DeMar DeRozan, a Chicago Bulls NBA player and Compton native, as Kendrick Lamar belts out a song “I’m glad DeRoz’ came home, you didn’t deserve it”. A reference to the player’s career, who played for nine seasons with the Toronto Raptors, Drake’s favourite team, with the Canadian star regularly appearing in the front row at home games.

DeMar DeRozan comes home

The fellow Compton native started his career playing for Drake’s hometown Toronto Raptors before being traded right before they won a championship in 2019. pic.twitter.com/X5xKGd94lI

— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) July 5, 2024

The war may not be over: in the first seconds of the clip, Kendrick Lamar gives a preview of a new track. Drake, for the moment, has not responded.