Kendrick Lamar continues his promotion of “Not Like Us” with the Fourth of July release of the track’s official music video.
The video, directed by Dave Free, includes an extra short freestyle from Kendrick and an extended outro of a massive group of people partying to the track. Kendrick employs the visual medium to send additional shots at Drake and defend himself on the track. This includes Kendrick dancing with his wife and kids, attempting to refute the claims that he abused them made by Drake in “Family Matters.” People’s Njera Perkins also points out how the hooded figure of Drake being blasted behind Kendrick in an alley calls back to Drake’s music video for “Family Matters.” Most obviously, Kendrick beats an Owl piñata, representative of Drake’s OVO label to the now iconic “wop wop wop wop wop” line, and concludes the video by shutting a live owl in a cage.
The song trended at #1 on YouTube’s Entertainment page for over a week. This continues the wave of the dominance of “Not Like Us,” the vicious climax of Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s ongoing beef. While the track’s lyrical attack on the integrity of Drake’s character, his position within the world of hip-hop, and questionable past behaviors was already a statement in itself, the song’s continued popularity through the summer of 2024 shines even brighter.
Debuting at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Not Like Us” is a genuine smash hit. This is the second Number 1 hit for Kendrick Lamar in 2024, the first of which was “Like That” with Future and Metro Boomin, where Kendrick initially aired out his problems with Drake. “Like That” would be the spark of a back and forth between the two rappers through April and May. Kendrick recently performed “Not Like Us” six times at his Juneteenth show in L.A., which ended in him bringing up a variety of artists as a symbol of unity.
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