What originated as a diss track against Drake in an decade-long feud has now turned into arguably the song of the summer. Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” can be heard on the radio, at pool parties, and even during school dances. The Mustard-produced track has a West Coast flow and upbeat tempo, making it catchy to sing, but he wouldn’t be Kendrick Lamar if he didn’t educate the masses in the midst of it all.
“Bear with me for a second, let me put y’all on game,” Lamar raps in the final verse of the song. The third verse provides listeners with a brief history of American slavery, specifically in Atlanta, where one of every five residents was enslaved, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
In the song, Lamar calls Atlanta “the Mecca,” citing the city’s impressive railroad system which was built mostly by slaves during the 19th century. According to “The American South,” a history of the region, railroads “offered solutions to the geographic barriers that segmented the South” like rivers and mountains.
Railroads built by slaves brought wealth and glory to the Confederate South. By the Civil War, the South “contained 33 percent of the nation’s railroad mileage and 40 percent of its population,” according to A Digital History Project.
In Atlanta, wealth from this infrastructure turned the city into a commuter hub. Even today, multiple companies still benefit off the profits of these railroads, which has sparked additional conversation about reparations for African Americans in the South.
Lamar then says “the settlers was usin’ townfolk to make ‘em richer. Fast-forward, 2024, you got the same agenda.”
He compares settlers profiting off of slave labor to Drake allegedly profiting off of Black artists, specifically in Atlanta. Drake has a long history with Atlanta. He often refers to the city his second home. In the remix to Migos’ hit song “Versace,” Drake raps, “born in Toronto but sometimes I feel like Atlanta adopted us” alongside the Atlanta rap group.
As he lists later in this diss track, Lamar says Migos isn’t the only Atlanta musical act Drake likes to attach himself to. Lamar references 21 Savage, Young Thug, Future, and Lil Baby — all of whom Drake has multiple songs with — and says they cant help with Drake’s “street cred.”
Later in the verse, Lamar raps “No, you not a colleague, you a f****** colonizer,” which is honestly another nail in the coffin. Throughout the latest stage of the Kendrick and Drake beef, Lamar has jabbed at Drake being biracial and alluded to the Toronto rapper struggling to fit in Black spaces because of it.
By calling Drake a “colonizer,” Lamar emphasizes how out of touch with Black culture Drake truly is. Despite his association with Black artists, number one hits, and millions of dollars, Lamar says Drake is still an outsider.
During “The Pop Out,” Lamar’s most recent live show held on Juneteenth, he did not shy away from his beef with Drake. Lamar performed several diss tracks targeted at the “God’s Plan” rapper, and he even ended the show performing “Not Like Us” back to back five times.
Although it seems the feud has died down between Drake and Lamar, the hype for “Not Like Us” could last for the entire summer.