*In a move that will certainly resonate across the hip-hop community, yesterday, on the 4th of July, Kendrick Lamar has unleashed what many are calling the final nail in the coffin of his ongoing feud with Drake. With the release of the highly anticipated video for “Not Like Us,” Lamar has seemingly wrapped up their rivalry without the need for a new diss track.
The video for “Not Like Us,” already one of 2024’s songs of the summer, begins with a gripping teaser. Fans are immediately hooked by a snippet of unreleased music, speculated to be from Lamar’s forthcoming album. The scene opens with Lamar knocking on a door, greeted by Tommy the Clown, a dancer who made an appearance at Lamar’s Juneteenth “Pop Out” show in Los Angeles. Tommy asks for a password, setting the stage for the transition into “Not Like Us” as Lamar whispers, “I see dead people,” a reference to The Sixth Sense and a bold statement that Drake has lost the beef so decisively that he is as good as “dead.”
Throughout the video, Lamar uses dense and symbolic imagery to assert his dominance over Drake. One of the most pointed visual digs occurs early in the video, where Lamar savagely beats an owl-shaped piñata—Drake’s OVO Sound logo—accompanied by the cheeky disclaimer, “No OVHoes were harmed in the making of this video.” Another significant moment, as reported by EW, features Lamar standing before a caged barn owl, a direct shot at Drake’s brand.
Adding fuel to the fire, NBA star Demar Derozan makes a memorable cameo midway through the video. Formerly a player for the Toronto Raptors, Derozan’s presence is an unmistakable jab at Drake’s deep-rooted ties to his hometown team.
Lamar also uses the video to dismiss a couple of allegations made by Drake. In Drake’s track “Family Matters,” it was suggested that Dave Free, Lamar’s long-time friend and collaborator, was the secret father of one of Lamar’s children. “Not Like Us” puts this rumor to rest with its final credit: “Directed by Dave Free and Kendrick Lamar,” signaling a strong, unbroken partnership.
Moreover, Drake had insinuated abusive behavior in Lamar’s relationship with his fiancée, Whitney Alford. The video poignantly rebuts this claim, showcasing a heartwarming scene where Alford joyfully dances with Lamar and their two children, radiating familial love and happiness.
The spark for this renewed conflict ignited when J. Cole named himself, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake as the “big three” of contemporary hip-hop in October. This prompted Lamar’s fiery retort on “Like That” in March: “Motherf— the big three, n—a, it’s just me.” Several tracks and disses later, Drake attempted a final rebuttal with “The Heart Part 6” in May. The fact that he deleted an Instagram post promoting the track shortly after its release left fans speculating a silent surrender.
Lamar’s defiant performance of “Not Like Us” five consecutive times at his Juneteenth show solidified his stance, even before the video’s release. With “Not Like Us” now visually cementing his final word on the matter, it seems clear that Kendrick Lamar has emerged victorious in his feud with Drake, not through sheer quantity of tracks, but through decisively poignant and strategic artistic expression.
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