A bridal crew’s cringe-inducing take on Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” reminds everyone that, sometimes, they should just enjoy things from other people and cultures instead of trying to make them their own.
To be clear, everyone can enjoy “Not Like Us,” but it’s important to remember who the song is really for. The song is a diss track directed at Drake, but the chorus, especially the lines “They not like us, they not like us, they not like us,” likely resonated with countless individuals. Lamar was seemingly referencing that Drake has been accused of being a “culture vulture” and suggesting the Black music industry doesn’t accept him as one of them. He’s promoting this idea that there’s a distinction between Black culture and community and those who want to take it and profit off of it. There are many ways that one could interpret the lyrics, but most Caucasians probably recognize the irony of singing those lines: “They not like us.” Again, there’s nothing wrong with just enjoying and singing it as a catchy song. However, where one should probably draw the line is publicly trying to recreate Lamar’s iconic Super Bowl performance with one’s own iteration of the “Not Like Us” dance.
Bridal crew puts their own spin on “Not Like Us”
A bride and her bridesmaids went viral on TikTok after users saw their “Not Like Us” dance. The bride, who goes by Diljá online, first posted the video on Instagram. In the video, she and her bridesmaid try to recreate the shuffling dance that Lamar did with his backup dancers while performing for the Super Bowl when they sang the “they not like us” lines. The stoic-faced bride in her pre-ceremony pajamas and socks leads the way while her bridesmaids follow suit. However, they do something more like stomping or marching as they awkwardly move forward, completely off-beat. Although they’re trying to pull off a serious/stoic look, they all look quite angry, adding a weird layer of aggressiveness to the awkward movement.
While the comments were turned off on the video, it quickly made its way to TikTok, where users had much to say about it. @thegordonnigel reshared the video, stating, “I don’t think I’ve seen a more clear example of who Kendrick is talking about when he says the phrase, ‘They not like us.'” He explained the intense “secondhand embarrassment” he felt watching the video and questioned how it’s possible that someone in that bridal entourage potentially saw that playback and thought, “Oh yeah! Absolutely … gotta post it.” @10ktacos played the video before a clip of a man writing “0” on a whiteboard that read, “Days since white people ruined something.”
@lizthemillennial reacted to the video, writing in her caption, “Mayo on the beat.” She also questioned the oddly aggressive nature of the performance, stating, “Y’all look mad … like, why do you guys look so mad? You’re like stomping, stomping, stomping … why?” Commenters also weighed in on the spectacle, with one user writing, “Why is she so angry? I feel like the groom should be afraid.” Another wrote, “The fact this song is called Not Like Us, and they’re not clocking the irony.” A Caucasian user wrote, “They not like us, either.”
It’s worth noting that Diljá admitted to having “no rhythm” on her Instagram post, although perhaps she didn’t realize that wasn’t the only or the biggest problem with the video. Ultimately, it seemed like the type of video one would keep in their drafts to laugh about on their anniversary, but not quite something they would confidently decide to post on social media. The major lesson here is that before you choose a song titled “Not Like Us” for your wedding party to march to, you might want to just double-check to ensure you’re not the person the title is referring to.
Published: Mar 3, 2025 02:54 pm