Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Kendrick Lamar dances during the music video shoot for “Not Like Us” on Saturday, June 22, 2024 in Watts, California.
CNN
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Kendrick Lamar turned the visual for his Drake-dissing track into a family event.
The prolific rapper dropped his music video for “Not Like Us” on the Fourth of July, and it features some of the people who are very dear to him.
The song is part of a much more publicized feud between Lamar and Drake.
Not only are there scenes featuring his fiancée Whitney Alford and their two young children, but Lamar can also be seen rapping along to the hit song surrounded by a crowd of fans.
Directed by rapper Dave Free, the film features cameos from several celebrities with ties to Compton native Lamar’s beloved West Coast, including NBA player DeMar DeRozan, also of Compton, and Tommy the Clown, known for creating the Left Coast dance style Krumping.
Throughout the music video, Lamar includes numerous visual references to Drake and his career, including an owl, the bird that Drake uses for his record label, OVO.
The video has been highly anticipated, especially for those who have been following the recent intense rap battle between Lamar and Drake.
Both rappers are former collaborators and have released multiple diss songs together, with “Not Like Us” being their most successful.
The video begins with Lamar doing push ups, which many believe is a reference to Drake’s single “Push Ups,” which was a response to Lamar’s diss of Drake on Metro Boomin and Future’s single “Like That.”
The inclusion of longtime girlfriend Alford and their kids seems to be a nod to Drake’s song “Family Matters,” in which Drake suggests Alford cheated on Lamar, and the music video shows Lamar and his family dancing happily and unconcernedly.
According to Billboard, “Not Like Us” debuted at number one on the Hot 100 when it was released in May and was described by many as the “song of the summer.”
Last month, Lamar performed the song five times during “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends” show, a Juneteenth concert livestreamed by Amazon Music on Twitch.