On May 11, Kendrick Lamar fans noticed something strange on Apple Music. Without explanation, his 2024 album GNX had disappeared from the streaming platform. Cross-referencing with other platforms, fans noted it was still on Spotify, but not on Tidal. Over on YouTube, there was a similar situation. The videos for “Luther” and “Not Like Us” disappeared and were re-uploaded, which reset their view count.
Additionally, “Euphoria” disappeared and was re-uploaded on streaming. GNX also returned to the platforms. Strangely, a report from Digital Music News found that the re-uploaded videos were subsequently removed again. Quickly, the originals returned in their place, retaining their view count.
There seems to be nothing different about the album or the videos. But, of course, this unexplained incident has the rumor mill turning. Obviously, it didn’t escape fans’ notice that several of Lamar’s diss tracks against Drake were involved.
Fan Theories Spread After Kendrick Lamar Album, Videos Were Removed and Returned To Streaming
One theory that spread online posited that the credits for “Not Like Us” may have been changed. With Drake still in a legal battle with UMG over the song, some speculated that the group may have been removed from the song’s credits. But then, why only remove the video from YouTube?
The theories are, of course, going wild. Many speculations have brought Drake into the fold as well, especially since his latest album, ICEMAN, is set for May 15. Rumors of hacks, PR stunts, and legal settlements are spreading online. But the incident remains officially unexplained, so the gossip mill continues to turn.
Fans gathered in the pop culture chat subreddit to discuss theories. While some are far-fetched, many comments noted that it might be copyright-related. Unfortunately, the timing of these edits wasn’t ideal if they wanted to avoid speculations involving Drake.
The prevailing theory is that the videos were taken down or made private while YouTube changed the Content ID. There’s a possibility that the videos still included Interscope Records in the ID, and the edit was to add pgLang to the publishing information. Kendrick Lamar co-founded pgLang in 2020, and while he doesn’t currently have a traditional record deal, he’s still exclusively linked to Interscope through pgLang.
The new videos might have just been temporary placeholders
As for the new videos that were uploaded, the replaced with the originals? One Reddit user suggested that YouTube may have taken a while to make the edits, so temporarily, new videos were uploaded as placeholders. When the edits were finished, the originals were made public again.
When you look at it from the perspective of a probable copyright amendment, there’s really nothing incendiary about it at all. Doing it the week of Drake’s album release has it simply becoming a wrong place, wrong time situation. But the people do love a scandal, even if they have to make one themselves.
The post What if the Reason Kendrick Lamar’s Videos Disappeared Isn’t as Incendiary as the Rumors Say? appeared first on VICE.
