Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ lyrics, explained
Ok, we all know Drake totally lost that rap beef, right? Kendrick’s diss track “Not Like Us” is a masterclass beatdown, and we’ll explain to you what the lyrics mean.
First, let’s go over some history behind the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef. As said by GQ, the rapper feud has been years in the making, going all the way back to their early collaborations and rivalry in 2011-2012. Throughout the 2010s, both Kendrick and Drake have thrown subtle digs at each other in various tracks and mixtapes. The song “King Kunta” off the critically acclaimed album To Pimp a Butterfly is widely interpreted to have a subtle diss at Drake being a ghostwriter: “I can dig rapping, but a rapper with a ghost writer?/What the f– happened? (Oh no) I swore I wouldn’t tell.”
Over the past decade, this feud steadily ramped up with endless back and forth digs, culminating in Kendrick’s diss tracks “The Heart Part 4” (2017), “Family Ties” (2021), “Meet the Grahams” (2024), and “Not Like Us” (2024). Drake released his own diss tracks in response, such as “Summer Sixteen” (2016), “No Friends in the Industry” (2021), “First Person Shooter” (2023), “Push Ups” (2024), “Family Matters” (2024), and “The Heart Part 6” (2024).
The feud was pretty much over after the numerous accolades and critical acclaim Kendrick got for “Not Like Us.” Kendrick would go on to win Best Rap Song at the 2025 Grammys, and even perform the song live for millions at the Super Bowl. And the rest is history.
Let’s take a look at the lyrics though and what they really mean. I’ll be using the Genius page for “Not Like Us” as citation for everything said. The song opens up with a The Sixth Sense reference, “Psst, I see dead people.” This line’s really fun because it also doubles as a callback to Kendrick’s 2024 track “Euphoria” and is basically saying that Drake uses ghostwriters for all of his songs. Funny stuff.
The next line has turned into quite the meme, “Ayy, Mustard on the beat, ho.” This is the producer tag of Dijon McFarlane, otherwise known as Mustard. He frequently collaborates with a lot of famous hip hop artists like Kendrick and YG. The next few lines are basically Kendrick firing a ton of shots at Drake while keeping swagger at the same time:
Deebo any rap n–, he a free throw
Man down, call an amberlamps, tell him, “Breathe, bro”
Nail a n– to the cross, he walk around like Teezo
What’s up with these jabroni-a* n– tryna see Compton?
The industry can hate me, f– ’em all and they mama
How many opps you really got? I mean, it’s too many options
I’m finna pass on this body, I’m John Stockton
Beat your a– and hide the Bible if God watchin’
Deebo here is most likely a reference to NBA player DeMar DeRozan of The Chicago Bulls fame, who is widely known for being an ace free throw shooter on the court. Kendrick’s basically saying he’ll shoot and he won’t miss on this track. Kendrick goes on to make references about nailing Drake to a cross (brutal) and giving him a beatdown even though he’s a Christian man of God. The “amberlamps” drop here is a reference to amber alerts, basically a subtle dig at Drake’s allegations of being a pedophile.
Kendrick sets the tone and stage with violent, aggressive imagery directed entirely at Drake. The next lines are no less savage:
Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young
You better not ever go to cell block one
To any b— that talk to him and they in love
Just make sure you hide your lil’ sister from him
They tell me Chubbs the only one that get your hand-me-downs
And Party at the party playin’ with his nose now
And Baka got a weird case, why is he around?
Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles
Wop, wop, wop, wop, wop, Dot, f— ’em up
Wop, wop, wop, wop, wop, I’ma do my stuff
Why you trollin’ like a b—? Ain’t you tired?
Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor
This is the most famous and damning segment of the entire song and the critical blow that fully established Kendrick’s dominance in this feud. Kendrick holds nothing back here, calling Drake a full on pedophile who can’t be trusted around children, based off allegations said of him. Kendrick doesn’t stop at Drake, but goes after his own record label OVO Sound.
Chubbs here is OVO’s own head of security, whom Kendrick says is the only person Drake actually treats like family vs the people Drake has allegedly exploited and abused. Kendrick also pops off with the assertion that Drake is a bad father with this. “Baka” would be a reference to Travis Savoury aka ‘Baka Not Nice’ who used to work as a security guard at OVO Sound. Baka had a trafficking lawsuit against him back in 2014, which was ultimately dismissed.
“Wop” is onomatopoeia meant to imitate Kendrick sending boxer-like punches at Drake via his lyricism. And of course, the the savage diss drop of “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor,” which is playful wordplay on musical chords and underaged minors. Drake was basically finished with this line.
The song continues with its main chorus: “They not like us, they not like us, they not like us/
They not like us, they not like us, they not like us.” This is a reference to both Kendrick’s own friends and family are nothing like those of Drake’s and Drake’s essentially outsider status.
There’s a racial element here too, as Drake is often seen as a light-skinned poser who identifies closer to white culture than Black culture. So Drake is “not like us” in that he is ‘not Black.’ This point is further emphasized with the following lines:
Once upon a time, all of us was in chains
Homie still doubled down callin’ us some slaves
Atlanta was the Mecca, buildin’ railroads and trains
Bear with me for a second, let me put y’all on game
The settlers was usin’ townfolk to make ’em richer
Here, Kendrick is talking about how Drake got rich off of Black culture in a colonialist way. He’s seen as an outsider to people still suffering from the immense legacies of slavery and Jim Crow. Kendrick puts the final nail in the coffin with “You run to Atlanta when you need a few dollars/No, you not a colleague, you a f— colonizer,” very bluntly calling Drake what he’s been accused of.
“Not Like Us” is a hip hop masterpiece, and will go down in history as one of the all-time greats. Given how spectacular Kendrick’s track record has been so far, I am excited to see what he has in store next.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
