Kendrick Lamar has not only garnered staggering streams for "Not Like Us" over the past 10 months or so, but also a heap of critical acclaim from many corners. Now, he cinched one of his most prestigious to date thanks to his new NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album. The visuals for the Drake diss track dropped on the Fourth of July last year, captivating audiences with disrespectful family dancing, a piñata beat-down, and the most diabolical game of hopscotch you've ever seen. Call the track overrated all you want, but fewer and fewer people are able to deny its impact.
Furthermore, this follows Kendrick Lamar's most dominant-ever period concerning Spotify monthly listeners, something that "Not Like Us" deserves significant credit for. He recently became the first rapper to surpass 105 million "monthlys" on the platform. This follows plenty of other commercial milestones and broken records for K.Dot, which have opened up a lot of exhausting conversation around the strength of his career. Some people see this as a straight-up revival, whereas most fans understand this as a long-overdue acknowledgement of his full artistic impact.
Drake "Not Like Us" Lawsuit
Still, this West Coast banger also yielded heavy consequences for Kendrick Lamar, especially as it relates to his sworn enemy. Drake's defamation lawsuit against UMG over "Not Like Us" shocked the hip-hop world, although the Compton lyricist clearly feels vindicated over how he struck a chord with Drizzy. In fact, the 6ix God reportedly agreed to remove certain "key allegations" from the filing, which suggests that his legal team is retracting some claims. But that info comes from UMG's camp and not OVO's directly, so take that with a grain of salt.
Meanwhile, other Kendrick Lamar tracks like "luther" could turn massive very soon, as the SZA collab could reportedly secure a No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. This would make Kendrick the first rapper in history to land four chart-toppers over 12 months. Surefire number ones already include "Like That," "Not Like Us," and "squabble up." Maybe this won't end up panning out, but nevertheless, it shows how expansive this run is.
