(February 4, 2025). In the world of rap battles, most diss tracks have a relatively short shelf life — sting for a minute, cause some swelling, and fade into hip-hop history. They’re resurrected only in a retrospective context when describing some of the genre’s most famous beefs, like those between Biggie and 2Pac in the ‘90s or between Jay-Z and Nas in the early ‘00s.
But Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”? That wasn’t just a sting. It has now moved into anaphylactic shock. Nearly a year after the song’s release, Drake is still likely breaking out in hives. The latest venomous wound: the song’s dual Grammy wins as Record and Song of the Year on Sunday (Feb. 2), coming just seven days before Kendrick will perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Think he won’t include the year’s top rap tune (and his now-biggest hit) on that setlist?
“Not Like Us,” which decisively ended the rapid back-and-forth diss-track battle between K.Dot and Drake last spring, did what few diss records have ever done: it became a cultural anthem. It didn’t just humiliate its target — it got people dancing and singing along to the humiliation. With its infectious hook and DJ Mustard’s West Coast bounce, the track turned the rap feud into a club banger. The irony? Drake, this century’s architect of singalong diss records (“Back to Back,” anyone?), got bested at his own game by his longtime rival.
And just when it seemed like the hive had settled, Kendrick gave “Not Like Us” more life (Drake pun intended). Last August, at a sold-out LA show, Kung Fu Kenny performed the No. 1 song five times in a row. Five. As in, the amount of fingers Drake counted on 5AM in Toronto when he thought he was untouchable. If humiliation had a world tour, that night in LA was the opening date. Then he released a video for the song, months after it debuted, and watched it return to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a second run at the top.
But the real kick-in-the-head had to be when Kendrick was announced last year as the Super Bowl halftime performer for this Sunday’s game (Feb. 9). It’s not even a question whether “Not Like Us” will be on the setlist. The only mystery is how many times he’ll run it back. Five? Ten? An entire medley of nothing but that tune? If you’re Drake, you’re probably hoping for a power outage in NOLA.
Meanwhile, the wounds from last spring are still fresh for the Toronto rapper. Desperate for redemption, Drake recently turned to the legal system, first accusing Universal Music Group (home to both rappers) of artificially promoting “Not Like Us” to his detriment (there didn’t appear to be anything fake about an entire audience of Grammy attendees last Sunday singing “A-minorrrrrr” as the song played during one of Kendrick’s acceptance speeches).
Drizzy later dropped that claim, likely upon realizing that UMG had simply been using the same tactics it’s employed for his music for years. That legal filing was like me getting mad at my mom for feeding my little brother the same way she fed me (that likely did happen btw, I’m ashamed to admit).
Undeterred, Drake filed a new lawsuit against UMG, alleging that promoting “Not Like Us” amounted to defamation of character. It’s understandable why he’s upset — the song didn’t just take shots, it launched nuclear allegations, including one that suggests Drake has a, let’s say, questionable interest in younger women. If the latest lawsuit fails, he may need to just file a restraining order against the tune itself for its unrelenting beatdown of the embattled rapper (it’s interesting that neither of Drake’s legal actions have named Kendrick himself as a defendant).
And now the latest sting — Sunday’s dual Grammy wins for “Not Like Us” (as well as the three rap awards it was up for) — marked only the second time a rap song has pulled off that double win, and the first time it’s happened with a diss track — a song squarely aimed at degrading another human being. Think about that for a minute: a song whose sole purpose was to brutally takedown another man being voted by 13,000 Grammy voters as the best written song of 2024 — and the best recording!
Imagine having to walk into a courtroom claiming defamation, and testifying before the judge that the song not only had the approval of fans and critics alike, but the industry as a whole with the Grammy sweep. How does anyone emotionally recover from that?
Meanwhile, as Kendrick gears up for the Super Bowl, the 6-God is trying to change the conversation. He just announced a new Valentine’s Day album with PartyNextDoor called $ome $exy $ongs 4 U. The timing feels strategic — coming just five days after Kendrick’s planned SB performance, and a way to remind fans that he (Drake) is still that certified lover guy. I guess it’s a way of saying, when all else fails in the hate game, turn to love for the solution.
But after ten months of steady stock decline, the market may have moved on from this Canadian export (hey, does that Trump tariff thing apply to Drake’s music as well?). “Not Like Us” certainly gives the whole “America First” thing a hip-hop context, doesn’t it?
And that brings us back to the lesson of this entire saga: if you’re gonna swing at a hornet’s nest, make sure it’s the kind where the insect stings once and never stings again. Because when it comes to Kendrick and, more specifically, “Not Like Us”? This is the kind that just keep buzzing. And stinging. And buzzing. And stinging.
DJRob
DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff! You can follow him on Bluesky at @djrobblog.bsky.social, X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog, on Facebook or on Meta’s Threads.
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