Kendrick Lamar reveals true meaning behind ‘Not Like Us’
Kendrick Lamar has had quite the year. Following his battle with Drake, he has been the centre of attention, and he recently swept up at the BET Hip-Hop Awards, taking home eight awards, including ‘Song of the Year’ and ‘Artist of the Year’. Much to the anger of Drake, the diss track ‘Not Like Us’ was nominated for eleven awards while not one of Drake’s disses was considered for a prize.
Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ diss track has proven to be one of the most popular hip-hop tracks of the year and has marked what many thought to be the beginning of the end for Drake, who was embarrassed by the Compton lyricist.
That said, in a recent interview Kendrick opened up about some of his recent struggles and delved into the deeper meanings of his music. Including the actual message of the diss track aimed at Drake and it proved to be a little less direct than many originally thought.
During his conversation with new-school R&B sensation SZA for Harper’s Bazaar, Kendrick was asked about the song and what he meant when he said “They Not Like Us” in the chorus of the song. Speaking to the Mr Morales & The Big Steppers creator, SZA asked, “Can I ask you a hypermasculine question? You can also tell me to shut the fuck up. What does “Not Like Us” mean to you?”
This led the rapper into a conversation about masculinity when he answered, “Not like us? Not like us is the energy of who I am, the type of man I represent. Now, if you identify with the man that I represent …”
Of course, this only provided more questions than answers, as SZA was very keen to find out what type of man he represented. In a bid to dig deeper into the type of male he “respects”, SZA asked Lamar to expand further, stating, “Break the man down for me.”
Unveiling the type of man he embodies, respects and represents, Lamar told the vocalist, “This man has morals, he has values, he believes in something, he stands on something. He’s not pandering.”
Lamar continued: “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. If I’m thinking of “Not Like Us,” I’m thinking of me and whoever identifies with that.”
Many could deduce that indirectly Lamar is saying that Drake does not possess any of these qualities and although he didn’t say it directly in his Harper’s Bazaar interview, it was seemingly implied between the lines.