Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” Video Is A Delight, Obviously
Kendrick Lamar keeps rubbing it in. “Not Like Us,” the decisive blow in his feud against Drake, already shot straight to #1 and went down in history as one of the best diss tracks of all time. He performed it five times in a row to close out the Pop Out, the concert he threw on Juneteenth to celebrate his victory and the LA rap scene. And now, on the Fourth of July, he’s released the video.
Directed by Kendrick and Dave Free, the clip keeps that petty yet familial West Coast energy going. Local celebs like “Not Like Us” producer Mustard, Godfather of Krump Tommy The Clown, and former Toronto Raptor DeMar DeRozan show up, as do Kendrick’s fiancée and kids, countering Drake’s allegations about her estrangement. A whole lot of other people are there too (including Black Hippy, Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, Steve Lacy, and Thundercat) to dance, cheer, and vibe out.
The first 20 seconds find Kendrick spitting some new bars, with one line referencing his collaborator Kamasi Washington. On the “it’s probably A-Minor” line, Kendrick crip walks on a hopscotch court. Oh, and the owls are a nice touch — both the piñata Kendrick bashes to bits and the real one that’s left looking sullen in a cage to end the proceedings.
It is, as expected, a fantastic video. Watch below.