Kendrick Lamar’s diss tracks are still causing controversy in the music industry. But this time, it’s not because he has more shots aimed at Drake or anyone else in hip-hop.
In an article published by the Los Angeles Times over the weekend, the owners of Alma’s Place, a soul food restaurant in Compton, seemingly claimed that they lost thousands of dollars on the day Lamar and his team filmed the video for “Not Like Us.”
“It was really disheartening to have the electricity on and gas. I’m just running everything and making no money,” Corina Pleasant, one of the co-owners, allegedly told the Times. “I literally was there for nothing, because the little money that I did make, I had to pay my staff with that.”
She added, “One day does matter. It does matter when you’re there, and you’re wasting your time. It does matter when your Edison bill is $1,000. It does matter when two weeks’ payroll for three people is nearly $3,000. It does matter when gas is $800. You’re there, all these things are running, and you have nothing to show for it.”
More from the Los Angeles Times:
Alma’s Place and other nearby businesses say they lost thousands of dollars that day. The business owners blame city officials for not providing any notice about the video shoot, which ultimately forced them to shut down operations. Now they’re asking Lamar, production company pgLang or the city to compensate them for their losses.
Naturally, this led to a lot of conversation on social media, with many people, including hip-hop personalities, pointing the blame at Kendrick: Even known weirdo and Drake supporter DJ Akademiks reposted the story on his Instagram.
But in the comment section for thi post, Alma’s Place wrote, “THIS ENTIRE POST IS MISQUOT3D AND PUSHING A NARRATIVE THAT WE DO NOT REPRESENT. People, please do not believe everything you read. Words have been twisted and it’s not right.”
They continued, “The city should have made better decisions with notification to tax paying business owners. We, in no way, have any negative commentary for Kendrick. This was a city issue! And @akademiks you better be careful about misquoting people and twisting words. WE NEVER spoke to you so how are you misquoting verbiage as fact?”
It’s wild to see that a diss track has been so relevant in the public eye for such a long time, especially during this day and time when people are so ready to move on from one song to the next. But Kendrick’s impact on the industry has stood the test time of time and made him the most talked about MC this year.