Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” is undoubtedly one of the most successful records to come from his ongoing feud with Drake. On July 3rd, several teaser images from the forthcoming music video surfaced online.
One of the most provocative shots showed Lamar smashing an owl piñata, clearly poking fun at Drake’s OVO label. The picture was accompanied by a humorous disclaimer: “DISCLAIMER: NO OV-H**S WERE HARMED DURING THE MAKING OF THIS VIDEO.”
In the second verse of “Not Like Us,” Lamar took direct aim at Drake, rapping lines like “What is the owl? Bird ngas and bird bches, go/ The audience not dumb/ Shape the stories how you want, hey, Drake, they’re not slow” and “What OVO for? The “Other Vaginal Option”? Psy/ Nga better straighten they posture, got famous all up in Compton.”
On the outro, Lamar further taunted Drake, stating “Let me hear you say, ‘OV-h‘/ Say, ‘OV-h‘/ Then step this way, step that way.”
Despite the combative nature of the teasers, Lamar also shared a more personal side, with one photo featuring him alongside his longtime partner Whitney Alford and their two children. Another image showed Lamar standing with his Black Hippy crew members ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Top Dawg Entertainment’s Punch.
While the exact release date for the “Not Like Us” video remains unconfirmed, fans are eagerly anticipating its arrival. Lamar previously performed the track six times in a row at his Juneteenth concert “The Pop Out — Ken & Friends” in Los Angeles.
In June, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. confirmed that “Not Like Us” is eligible for a Grammy, dismissing any concerns about the song’s confrontational lyrics. “I think the voting members of the academy appreciate greatness,” he said of the Hot 100 chart-topping diss track.