While Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss song “Not Like Us” has been a massive hit since their dust up this spring, fans have been wrestling with the meaning of its titular phrase all along. Obviously Drake is “not like us,” but just who is “us,” and what are they like? In explaining the title of his hit, K. Dot might as well have fired more shots at his onetime rival.
In an interview with his former TDE labelmate SZA for Harper’s Bazaar, Kendrick was asked to explain “what does ‘Not Like Us’ mean to you?”
“Not like us is the energy of who I am, the type of man I represent,” he replied. When asked what kind of man that is, he elaborated, “This man has morals, he has values, he believes in something, he stands on something. He’s not pandering. He’s a man who can recognize his mistakes and not be afraid to share the mistakes and can dig deep down into fear-based ideologies or experiences to be able to express them without feeling like he’s less of a man.”
All of which implies that he doesn’t think Drake is that kind of person. One day, someone’s got to get the real story on just what transpired between the two rappers that Kendrick was willing to go on such a terror campaign against the Canadian.
