Kendrick Lamar just had a huge night at the 2025 Grammys, where “Not Like Us” was nominated for five awards — Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video — and won all of them.
Interestingly, though, when Lamar later announced the album GNX, the Drake diss was not included on the tracklist. Many have wondered why that is, and Top Dawn Entertainment’s Punch, a longtime Lamar associate, has offered some insight.
A fan on X (formerly Twitter) asked Punch why Lamar didn’t put the song on the album and he responded:
“Integrity. That record was for the battle. The album was a separate thing. Could have put it on there to boost overall sales but choose to leave it for what it was. Integrity.”
Meanwhile, another user asked Punch if he’d be open to TDE signing more gay artists and he replied, “Open to see artist in general. Not just because the artist is a certain thing. Is the music good is the question.”
After the Grammys, Punch also reflected on SZA’s journey, writing, “It’s crazy.. when ctrl dropped SZA was nominated for 5 Grammys and we got shut out of every award. Now she’s a 5x Grammy Award winning artist. Full circle.”
