‘Not Like Us’ Lyrics: The Meaning Behind Kendrick Lamar’s Diss Track

Find out more about the beef revisited during Kendrick Lamar's performance of "Not Like Us" at Super Bowl LIX, which included Serena Williams.

Astrong

Feb 11, 2025 - 21:01

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The Meaning Behind Kendrick Lamar's Diss Track

Image Credit: Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Kendrick Lamar really popped up and showed out.

On Sunday, Feb 9, the rapper delivered a Super Bowl halftime performance like no other. This marked the first time a rap star headlined the halftime show solo. Lamar had previously performed at the Super Bowl in 2022 as part of a star-studded lineup with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Eminem.

But it wasn’t just the headline performance with special guest SZA that had fans buzzing; it was the execution—especially when KDOT performed his Grammy-winning track “Not Like Us,” his infamous diss track aimed at Drake.

To dive deeper into their history, learn more about the song, and more, keep reading.

Kendrick Lamar & Drake’s Feud (The Short-ish Version)

Here’s the timeline:

October 31, 2023: Drake Drops “First Person Shooter” In the song featuring J. Cole, Drake and Cole rap about their superstar statuses. While they celebrate being at the top of the game, Cole gives Kendrick a shoutout, referring to the trio as “the Big 3.” However, Kendrick didn’t seem to appreciate the mention. March 26, 2024: Kendrick Lamar Responds With “Like That” Verse Kendrick decided to go on the attack, addressing the situation and specifically calling out the “Big 3” line from “First Person Shooter“ with: “Motherf*** the big three, n***a, it’s just big me.” April 13, 2024: Drake’s Song “Push Ups” Leaks Drake fired back by mysteriously leaking “Push Ups,” revisiting the “Big 3” line and taking shots at Kendrick’s height. More notably, he also insulted the rapper’s deal with his former label, Top Dawg Entertainment. April 19, 2024: Drake Drops “Taylor Made Freestyle” While awaiting Lamar’s response to “Push Ups,” Drake also released the now-deleted track “Taylor Made Freestyle,”where he used AI-generated voices of Lamar’s idols Tupac and Snoop Dogg to take shots at him. This move led to a cease and desist from Tupac’s estate. April 30, 2024: Kendrick Hits Back at Drake With “euphoria” With “euphoria,” Kendrick takes numerous shots at Drake over the six-minute track, targeting his credibility, reputation, and even his abilities as a father. At one point, he raps, “I got a son to raise, but I can see you don’t know nothin’ ’bout that.” May 3, 2024: Kendrick Back-to-Backs Drake With “6:16 in LA” Just as Drake followed up his 2015 diss track “Back to Back” with “Charged Up” against Meek Mill, Kendrick wasted no time with a response of his own. Less than three days after dropping “euphoria,” he released “6:16 in LA,” aimed at Drake. In the track, Kendrick suggests that someone from Drake’s team may be leaking information to him. May 3, 2024: Drake Fires Back With “Family Matters” On the same day Kendrick dropped “6:16 in LA,” Drake released “Family Matters” along with its music video. The nearly eight-minute track included controversial lines, suggesting that Kendrick’s child was actually fathered by his manager, Dave Free. Drake also took aim at Lamar’s relationship with his fiancée, Whitney Alford. May 3, 2024: Kendrick Lamar Immediately Responds With “Meet the Grahams” Just 20 minutes after Drake dropped “Family Matters,” Kendrick responded with the track “Meet the Grahams.” The song is structured as a series of letters to Drake’s son, Adonis, his parents, an alleged secret daughter, and finally to Drake himself. One of the most talked-about claims in the song was Kendrick’s allegation that Drake has an 11-year-old daughter. May 4, 2024: Kendrick Jabs Drake Again With “Not Like Us” The next day, Kendrick took another shot at Drake with the song “Not Like Us,” where he doubled down on the allegations of sexual abuse against Drake and those associated with OVO that he made in “Meet the Grahams.” May 5, 2024: Drake Responds With “The Heart Part 6” Drake released his five-minute rebuttal, “The Heart Pt. 6,” playing off Lamar’s groundbreaking “Heart” franchise. In the track, he addresses the daughter rumor, claiming that his team fed false information to Kendrick, and denies both the sexual abuse allegations and the accusations of being involved with underage women.

Is “Not Like Us” About Drake?

The track “Not Like Us” is undeniably aimed at Drake.

It came as part of Kendrick’s ongoing back-and-forth with Drake (as outlined above), and ultimately, it became the song that marked Kendrick coming out on top.

In addition to the direct references to Drake, such as calling him out by name twice, the song is packed with creative lines and subtle jabs, which are even more apparent in the accompanying music video. The visuals only amplified the message Kendrick was sending, making it one of the most talked-about tracks of their rivalry.

In Kendrick’s halftime show performance, the rapper refrained from using the word “pedophile,” but he still managed to get a lot of people singing along with the line: “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minorrrrrr.” Notably, tennis superstar Serena Williams, who was once romantically linked to Drake, was seen dancing during the track.

From Compton to NOLA. @SerenaWilliams @KendrickLamar #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/mnzuP7fJ1N

— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025

Is Drake Suing Kendrick Lamar?

No, Drake is not suing Kendrick. However, the “Not Like Us” track became the center of a defamation lawsuit filed by Drake against Universal Music Group, the parent label to which both he and Lamar are signed.

According to Billboard, the Canadian rapper decided to sue the music label, accusing UMG of conducting an illegal “scheme” to promote Kendrick’s song, ensuring that it received additional attention. Drake alleges this was done despite the track serving as a diss aimed at him and referencing his name directly.