Kendrick Lamar put a cap on his months-long feud with Drake by releasing a music video for his hit song “Not Like Us,” which dissed the Canadian rapper.
Lamar released the video on Independence Day. He previously held a concert called “The Pop Out” on Juneteenth, where he performed “Not Like Us” six times. Many fans viewed the timing of these events as digs toward Drake, who Lamar accused of stealing Black American culture in his diss tracks.
The “Not Like Us” music video has received over 13 million views as of Friday morning.
Many fans online praised the video and viewed it as a celebration of Compton, Calif., where Lamar is from, and the West Coast. Others delighted in Lamar’s continued jabs at Drake.
The video appears to make several references to Drake, including the inclusion of an owl piñata and a live owl in a cage. The owl is a mascot for Drake’s label October’s Very Own, or OVO. While Lamar was hitting the piñata, the music video flashed the disclaimer: “No Ovhoes were harmed during the making of this video.”
There are also references to Toronto, where Drake is from, in the video. Mustard, the producer who made the “Not Like Us” beat, is featured in the music video wearing a Toronto Blue Jays hat. NBA player DeMar DeRozan, who is from Compton but previously played on the Toronto Raptors, also makes a cameo in the video. Lamar gave DeRozan a shout out in “Not Like Us” while dissing Toronto through the line: “I’m glad DeRoz’ came home/Y’all didn’t deserve him neither.”
Lamar also seemingly made fun of some of the claims set forth in Drake’s diss tracks against him. He is seen doing push ups on cinder blocks in the video, which people interpreted as a reference to Drake’s diss against Lamar, “Push Ups.” Lamar also featured his fiancée Whitney Alford and kids, whom Drake claimed were estranged from Lamar.
The two rappers have been embroiled in a rap beef since earlier this year. While many fans stuck by their favorite artists, it is broadly believed that Lamar won the battle because of how popular and pervasive “Not Like Us” has become. Some said that “The Pop Out” concert on Juneteenth was Lamar’s “victory lap” in his lyrical fight with Drake.
Lamar also teased an unreleased track at the beginning of the “Not Like Us” video, which fans speculated hinted at a new project from the rapper.
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