Kendrick Lamar Drops 'Not Like Us' Video Amid Drake Beef
By Justin Curto, who covers music, TV, and celebrity for Vulture
It’s all eyes on Kendrick Lamar once again — in the music video for “Not Like Us.” Months after dropping his No. 1 hit diss track, Lamar followed things up with a July 4 visual, another victory lap in his beef against Drake. The video, which he co-directed with Dave Free, opens with a short freestyle. The Compton rapper is then seen celebrating in his hometown, dancing with producer DJ Mustard and hundreds of fans at locations like city hall and Tam’s Burgers. Even Lamar’s fiancé, Whitney Alford, and their two kids joined him in getting down to the track. In a clear nod to Drake’s OVO label, there’s also a lot of owl imagery — Lamar attacks a piñata while a disclaimer insists that “no OVHoes were harmed during the making of this video,” and the final shot is of an owl in a cage.
Lamar shot the video in late June, days after the Juneteenth “Pop Out” concert, during which he played “Not Like Us” six times. According to the Los Angeles Times, among the fans who showed up were Steve Lacy, YG, Thundercat, Roddy Ricch, and even NBA star DeMar DeRozan, who is name-dropped in the song. Now let’s just hope Drake doesn’t respond with a “Heart Part 6” video. None of us need that.
