Decoding Kendrick Lamar's Best Shots at Drake in 'Not Like Us' Video

Back in May, Kendrick Lamar has been crowned heavyweight champion in his long-running war of words with Drake. But even after releasing a barrage of diss tracks — “Euphoria,” “Meet the Grahams” and the summer anthem “Not Like Us” among them — Lamar wasn't done yet.

He celebrated his historic rap feud victory at the Pop Out: Ken & Friends show on Juneteenth, where fans, local legends and members of the rap community united in Los Angeles for a celebration of West Coast hip-hop. One of the highlights of the show was Lamar rapping “Not Like Us” — not once, but five times in a row. (The show's name comes from the “Not Like Us” lyric, “Sometimes you mustta pop out and show niggas.”)

The Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper wasn't done yet. On Independence Day, Lamar released the highly anticipated music video for “Not Like Us,” exactly two months after the chart-topping song was released. As of Tuesday, it has garnered more than 38 million views on YouTube. As Rolling rockAndre Gee told him, “Not Like Us” is “a DJ Mustard-made knockout hit with a classic LA swing” and it quickly became a crowd favorite in cookouts and nightclubs – all of which meant the Internet was ready to react to the visuals.

Throughout the nearly six-minute long video, Lamar adds tantalizing visuals to go along with his endless shots at his rival. Directed by Lamar and longtime creative partner Dave Free, the music video dances on Drake's metaphorical grave, sarcastically referencing the Canadian rapper's allegations against Lamar, his alleged involvement with minors and more. Here are six notable moments in the “Not Like Us” music video.

A celebration of Compton

Lamar unapologetically celebrates his hometown throughout “Not Like Us,” starting with an image of Compton City Hall and the Civic Center, featuring a corner monument to Martin Luther King Jr. He later uses the square as a backdrop for a block party. The music video also features Los Angeles legend Tommy the Clown, who is credited with bringing attention to the clown-based dance style on the West Coast.

Drake Lane Demo Tapes

An early clip in the music video features Lamar in a dark room, lit only by the headlights of a car as a masked figure creeps up behind him. Before the masked man can get too close, he is pushed back by a phantom force. The figure mirrors the cover of Drake's 2020 release Dark Lane demo tapes.

“Fly and give me 50”

As Lamar raps, “Say Drake, I hear you young/You better never go to the first cell,” he's shown in a fake prison cell doing push-ups on blocks. The push-ups are a clear reference to Drake's diss track “Push Ups,” in which he told Lamar to “drop and give me 50” (as well as mocking Lamar's height and suggesting he was stuck in an exploitative publishing deal ). Lamar stops at 17, which some fans believe refers to his 17 Grammy wins. In the split-screen clip, Lamar also mimics a viral gesture Drake allegedly exchanged with a younger female fan, just in time for the line: “To every bitch that talks to him and they're in love, make sure you hide your little sister from him.” It's an easy reference that once again alludes to Drake's alleged inappropriate behavior with underage women (which he denies).

“It's probably A-Minorrrrr”

Which brings us to Lamar's poignant line: “Tryna hit a chord and it's kinda minor.” As he delivers the beat, the camera pans out to show Lamar skipping a chalk strip game, drawing parallels between the playground game and Drake's alleged behavior.

Family matters

In what looks like a direct reference to Drake's diss track “Family Matters,” Lamar stands next to his partner, Whitney Alford, and their two children in a set that looks like a family home. The scene takes a direct hit at Drake's claims that Lamar has a toxic relationship with his fiancee, including allegations that he abused her and left for New York to elope. Instead, Lamar and his family cross the stage smiling and dancing along to the words, “Family matters and the truth of the matter/ It was God's plan to show you all a liar.” (As a X user pointed out, the fisheye camera lens makes it feel like a hunter is looking into the living room of a happy family.)

The bird in a cage

Drake's record label OVO famously uses an owl as its logo. Cue Lamar hitting an owl-shaped pińata as the words “wop, wop, wop, wop, wop” play in the background. The music video later ends with Lamar looking at a caged owl, another nod to Drake's bird emblem and symbolic of where each of them are now in the rap game.