Drake and Kendrick Lamar had been secretly feuding for years before their conflict escalated in April. Prince Williams / Wireimage / Arturo Holmes / MG23 / Getty Images for the Met Museum / Vogue
Kendrick Lamar has released a music video for his commercially successful track against Drake, “Not Like Us.”
The song was originally released during his diss track war with Drake in May.
Here are all the moments that seem to reference the conflict between Kendrick and Drake.
Kendrick Lamar appears to be mocking Drake again with his new music video for his diss track“Not like us.”
The two hip-hop superstars became embroiled in a diss track war in April and early May after Lamar publicly called out Drake and J. Cole in a verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” album “We Don’t Trust You” in March.
Neither rapper has released a new diss track since May 5, but Lamar continues to fuel the conflict.
On Thursday, the “Not Like Us” video became the first music video Lamar has released for his diss tracks against Drake.
The video is filled with cameos, including from his longtime partner Whitney Alford and their two children.
The video appears to be Lamar’s second victory lap after performing four of his five diss tracks and rapping “Not Like Us” five times in a row during his Juneteenth concert last month.
At first, hip-hop fans were excited about the clash between Lamar and Drake, thinking it was a friendly competition between some of the genre’s most notable stars. Clash rap can help artists increase their streams and sales and prove that they deserve acclaim in the hip-hop world.
But the feud between Drake and Lamar quickly turned fierce when both stars made unverified allegations of sexual assault, child molestation and domestic violence against each other.
After a week of back-to-back asymmetrical tracks, Drake seems to have given up the fight following the release of “The Heart Part 6” on May 5. But Lamar keeps going.
Here are all the moments in the “Not Like Us” music video that seem to reference clash rap.
The Compton Courthouse is shown several times.
The Compton Courthouse makes several appearances in “Not Like Us.” Vevo / YouTube
The “Not Like Us” music video features several shots of the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Compton, California, and scenes of Lamar and his fans outside the courthouse.
In the first verse of the song, Kendrick calls Drake a pedophile, and showing the courthouse could be a nod to that.
In May, Variety reported that the cover art for “Not Like Us” was an aerial view of Drake’s mansion near Toronto with pins on the building, resembling those used on sex offender maps.
Drake denied allegations of pedophilia in “The Heart Part 6,” saying he was “too famous” to have sex with underage women and would be arrested for it.
Lamar teases a new song at the beginning of the track.
Kendrick Lamar performs at Rolling Loud Miami in 2022. Jason Koerner/Getty Images
Before the beat of “Not Like Us” begins, a new track plays in which Lamar raps about reincarnation.
Could this be another track aimed at Drake, or is Lamar teasing a song for an upcoming album, indicating he’s moving on after the beef?
Tommy the Clown, DeMar DeRozan and Black Hippy make appearances in the song.
DeMar DeRozan (top) and Tommy the Clown (bottom) are among the many cameos in the “Not Like US” music video. Vevo / YouTube
Tommy the Clown, DeMar DeRozan and members of the rap group Black Hippy Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q and Jay Rock are among the many cameos in the video. They also appeared on stage at Lamar’s Juneteenth concert last month and are leading figures in the West Coast hip-hop community.
In the diss track “Taylor Made Freestyle,” released in April, Drake uses AI-generated vocals from Snoop Dogg and the late Tupac Shakur to question Lamar’s position as a representative of the West Coast rap scene.
Lamar challenged this idea by asking West Coast figures to publicly support him in the video. Lamar likely filmed “Not Like Us” at iconic Compton locations, like Tam’s Burgers, for a similar reason.
Lamar appears to be taking on Drake’s label, OVO.
Kendrick hits an owl-shaped piñata in the video, which appears to be a reference to Drake’s label, OVO. Vevo / YouTube
At the beginning of the video, Lamar hits a piñata shaped like an owl, the logo of Drake’s label, OVO.
A caption at the bottom of the screen reads: “Disclaimer: No OVH personnel were harmed in the making of this video.”
“Ov-ho” is a term Lamar uses in “Not Like Us” to mock Drake and his label.
This scene seems to be a direct reference to the fight between Lamar and Drake.
At the end of the video, Lamar looks at an actual owl and puts it in a cage, suggesting that Lamar thinks he has defeated Drake.
The cage could symbolize Lamar’s attempt to ostracize Drake from the hip-hop community with the rap beef.
Lamar is referencing Drake’s first diss track, “Push Ups.”
Kendrick Lamar does push-ups in a room that looks like a prison cell. Vevo / YouTube
In his first track, “Push-ups,” Drake uses exercise as a metaphor to mock Lamar’s alleged deal with his former label, Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). Drake claimed that the label took 50% of the profits from Lamar’s songs.
Lamar and TDE have never responded to this allegation.
A representative for Lamar and TDE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
In one scene from the “Not Like Us” music video, Lamar is seen doing push-ups on cinder blocks, seemingly referencing the song.
Lamar may also be suggesting that Drake should be in jail. The layout of the room, the small bed, and Lamar’s sweatpants all seem to reference a prison cell. At this point in the song, Lamar also makes allegations of pedophilia.
TDE CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith and producer Mustard also make appearances.
Mustard (left image), Jay Rock (left in right image), and Anthony Tiffith (right in right image) are all collaborators of Kendrick Lamar (center in right image). Vevo / YouTube
During the video, Lamar stands next to TDE CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith and later hugs him. This may be another way for Lamar to respond to Drake’s allegations that TDE exploited the “Humble” rapper. When the two hug, they prove that there is no conflict between Lamar and TDE.
“Not Like Us” producer Mustard makes an appearance alongside Lamar when they visit Tam’s Burgers.
Lamar appears to respond to Drake’s allegations regarding his longtime partner Whitney and their children
Kendrick Lamar, Whitney Alford and their two children appear together in the music video for “Not Like Us”. Vevo / YouTube
Lamar’s longtime partner Whitney Alford and their two children are the last major cameo in the “Not Like Us” music video.
In his songs “Family Matters” and “The Heart Part 6,” Drake claims that Lamar abused Alford. Drake has also claimed that Dave Free, the co-founder of Lamar’s company PGLang, is the biological father of one of Lamar’s children.
Lamar has not directly responded to the allegations. But Alford and his two children appear in the clip, and Free was credited as director at the end of the clip.
Lamar seems to suggest there is no drama between him and Alford or Free.