It started with a whisper. "Psst... I see dead people." Honestly, when Kendrick Lamar opened "Not Like Us" with that Sixth Sense callback, nobody—not even the most die-hard TDE fans—realized they were about to witness the most systematic dismantling of a superstar in music history. It wasn’t just a diss. It was a funeral.
Look.
We’ve all seen the memes. We’ve all done the "A-minor" chant at weddings or backyard BBQs. But if you think kendrick not like us lyrics are just about calling Drake names, you’re basically watching a 4K movie through a screen door. There is a terrifying amount of regional politics, history, and psychological warfare packed into those three and a half minutes.
Why the A-Minor Line Still Stings
Let's talk about the elephant in the room. The "A-minor" bar is probably the most famous lyric of the 2020s so far. "Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A-minorrrrrr." Kendrick holds that last note for exactly five seconds. It’s mocking. It’s taunting.
But why did it work so well?
Most rappers make allegations. Kendrick made a catchy nursery rhyme out of them. By tethering serious accusations of predatory behavior—specifically referencing Drake’s past associations with younger stars like Millie Bobby Brown or the rumors involving his OVO crew—to a West Coast club beat, Kendrick did the unthinkable. He made it "fun" to accuse the biggest pop star on earth of being a "certified pedophile."
It’s dark. It’s actually pretty twisted if you sit with it.
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The OVO Roll Call
Kendrick doesn't just aim at Drake. He goes for the whole camp. He name-drops:
- Chubbs: Drake’s head of security.
- PartyNextDoor: The first OVO signee.
- Baka Not Nice: Kendrick brings up Baka’s past legal issues, specifically a 2014 trafficking case that was dismissed, but used here to paint the entire OVO label as a "predatory" organization.
He isn't just saying Drake is bad. He’s saying the house Drake built is structurally unsound.
That Mustard Beat Is a Trojan Horse
If this track had a dark, grimy beat like "Meet the Grahams," it would have stayed in the underground. Instead, Kendrick tapped DJ Mustard.
Mustard is the architect of the "Ratchet" sound. He’s the guy who defined the sound of the West Coast for a decade. He reportedly made the beat in just 30 minutes. He didn't even know what Kendrick was going to say over it until the song dropped.
The tempo is 100 BPM. That’s the "sweet spot" for West Coast funk. By using this sound, Kendrick forced the entire world—including people in Drake’s home city of Toronto—to dance to a song that calls Drake a "colonizer."
It is high-level psychological manipulation. You can’t help but nod your head, which means you’re technically nodding in agreement with the lyrics.
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The "Colonizer" Argument: What People Get Wrong
The second half of the kendrick not like us lyrics moves away from the "creepy" allegations and moves into cultural gatekeeping. This is where it gets academic, but stay with me.
Kendrick calls Drake a "colonizer."
He lists off Atlanta legends: Future, Lil Baby, 21 Savage, Young Thug, Quavo, 2 Chainz. His argument is that Drake doesn't actually like these people. He uses them. He waits for a local scene to get hot, hops on a remix, sucks the "street cred" out of it, and moves on to the next trend.
"You run to Atlanta when you need a few dollars / No, you not a colleague, you a f***ing colonizer."
This hit a nerve because it’s a conversation Black Twitter has been having for ten years. Kendrick just gave it a megaphone. He’s contrasting the "authentic" struggle of the South with Drake’s affluent upbringing in Forest Hill, Toronto. Is it fair? Maybe not. Drake has done a lot for those artists’ bank accounts. But in a rap battle, fairness is for losers.
The Records Broken (2024-2026)
This song didn't just win the beef; it broke the internet.
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- It became the fastest rap song to hit 100 million, 200 million, and eventually 1 billion streams (reaching that milestone in January 2025).
- It dethroned Drake’s own records on Spotify for "biggest single-day streams for a hip-hop song."
- It returned to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 multiple times, including a massive surge after Kendrick’s Super Bowl LIX performance.
Drake even tried to sue Universal Music Group (UMG) in late 2025, claiming they used "illegal tactics" to boost the song’s popularity. The lawsuit was dismissed, but it showed just how much the song got under his skin.
Decoding the Ending
The song ends with Kendrick repeating "They not like us" over and over. Who is the "us"?
In an interview with SZA for Harper’s Bazaar, Kendrick said "Not Like Us" is about "the energy of who I am, the type of man I represent." He’s talking about morals. Values. Being "rooted in the soil."
Basically, he's saying that no matter how much money Drake has, he can’t buy the respect of the "culture" because he didn't grow up in it. He’s the "guest" who stayed too long and started acting like he owned the house.
What You Should Do Next
If you really want to understand the depth of this feud, don't just listen to the radio edit.
- Watch the Music Video: Look for the scene where Kendrick does 17 push-ups (a direct mock of Drake’s "Push Ups" diss and an alleged dig at "17" being a significant number in the allegations).
- Read the "Family Matters" Lyrics: You have to see what Kendrick was responding to. Drake’s accusations about Dave Free and Whitney Alford were heavy. Kendrick’s response was just heavier.
- Check the Credits: Notice how Kendrick credits himself as the sole writer. In a world of ghostwriters and "camps," he’s pointing out that he did this work alone.
The dust has finally settled on the great rap war of 2024, but the impact of "Not Like Us" is permanent. It changed how we look at pop-rap crossovers and proved that, sometimes, the "boogeyman" is real.
Actionable Insight: To fully grasp the West Coast technicality of the track, listen to the song again but focus only on the "swing" of Kendrick’s vocals. He raps slightly ahead of the beat—a style popularized by the late Drakeo the Ruler. It’s a subtle nod to L.A. street rap that most casual listeners miss entirely.
Next Steps: Research the "Atlanta Mecca" references in the third verse to understand why Kendrick views the city’s hip-hop scene as a vulnerable resource that was being "mined" by outsiders.