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If you’ve been anywhere near the internet in the past year, you already know “Not Like Us” has been having a near year-long a moment. It’s the track that had stadiums chanting, the internet exploding, and even the Super Bowl halftime show turning into a victory lap for Kendrick Lamar (even if cranky boomers couldn’t understand his lyrics *eyeroll*). But it seemed to trancend past the level of diss record; it became a cultural event, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard charts, winning multiple Grammys, and racking up millions of streams. It also delivered some of the most brutal lines hip-hop has seen in a long time, leaving Drake—and anyone still defending him—on shaky ground to say the least.

But here’s the thing: “Not Like Us” isn’t just about Drake. Well, I guess it is, but it also could be more than that. It’s about power, credibility, and the long history of outsiders trying to claim a culture that isn’t theirs. As someone who’s spent a lot of time studying English literature and creative writing, I can’t help but see the deeper layers in these lyrics as Kendrick walking the same road other poets and writers have done for centuries: using sharp, deliberate language to call out injustice, demand accountability, and draw a clear line between who belongs and who doesn’t.

So that’s what we’re doing here. This is just my take, but I want to break down “Not Like Us” with a more literary approach—because if we’re talking about the power of words, Kendrick is right up there with some of the greats. Let’s dive in.

[embed]https://youtube.com/watch?v=qeceZOd8et8&si=LoNyn0V02UMMqfyY[/embed]

“Not Like Us” at a Glance

  • Kendrick made this song bigger than just a diss track. It’s a direct attack on Drake’s credibility, but it also taps into bigger ideas about cultural appropriation, power, and identity.
  • The song dominated charts and culture. It hit No. 1 on Billboard, won multiple Grammys, and even took center stage at the Super Bowl halftime show. It’s easily one of the most explosive rap records in years.
  • This is Kendrick at his sharpest. Every line is calculated—whether he’s calling out Drake’s alleged past, questioning his place in hip-hop, or making sure there’s no doubt about who really runs the culture.

Not Like Us Lyrics

Not Like Us Meaning

“Deebo…, he a free throw”**

Right away, Kendrick is setting the tone. He compares himself to Deebo, the bully from Friday, saying he dominates his competition with ease. A free throw is the easiest shot in basketball—so Kendrick is saying that beating Drake is effortless.

This connects to Claude McKay’s poem “If We Must Die.” In that poem, McKay talks about fighting back with pride, refusing to go down without a fight:

If we must die—let it not be like hogs,
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot.

McKay was talking about real-life racial violence, but the idea is the same: if you’re going to be in a fight, you better stand up for yourself. Kendrick is saying he won’t let Drake or the industry push him around.

The whole first verse follows this same energy. Kendrick isn’t just battling in rap—he’s making it clear that he fights for real culture, not for money or fame. Just like McKay said about facing oppression, Kendrick is saying he’ll fight back against anyone trying to take his place.

“Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young / You better not ever go to cell block one”

This is one of the most brutal lines in the song. Kendrick is accusing Drake of something serious, and he does it in a way that makes sure people won’t forget it. He’s not being vague—he’s making a direct statement.

This connects to the idea of exposing hidden truths, something that Amiri Baraka often did in his poetry. In his poem “Dope,” Baraka talks about how the world hides ugly realities behind money and entertainment:

And everything you think you know
Is just some dope they pushin’ on you.

Baraka is saying that people will lie to protect those in power—and that’s exactly what Kendrick is fighting against here. He’s making sure that the truth about Drake isn’t ignored or covered up.

By bringing up this accusation in a song, Kendrick is doing what Baraka did in his poetry—forcing the audience to see what they might want to ignore.

“They not like us, they not like us, they not like us”

This chorus is simple, but it’s one of the most important parts of the song. Kendrick keeps repeating it to drive the message home: Drake is not like him. Drake is not like real hip-hop. Drake is not part of the culture in the way he wants people to believe.

This connects directly to Baraka’s poem “Dope”, where he writes about outsiders trying to take Black culture for profit:

Suckin up the rhythms
Of the young colored children.

Baraka is talking about how the music industry steals from Black artists—taking their sound, their style, their slang—without truly being part of their world. This is exactly what Kendrick is accusing Drake of doing.

By repeating “They not like us”, Kendrick is separating himself from Drake, just like Baraka separated real culture from the people trying to steal it.

“You run to Atlanta when you need a check balance”

This is where Kendrick really calls out Drake for using other people’s culture to stay on top. He lists Atlanta rappers—Future, Lil Baby, 21 Savage, Young Thug, Quavo, 2 Chainz—and says Drake borrows their sound, their slang, their credibility when he needs a hit song.

This ties directly to what Baraka said in “Dope.” He called out how companies and outsiders profit off Black culture without really being part of it. In the poem, he wrote:

The only thing hip about you is your music
And that’s borrowed.

That’s exactly what Kendrick is saying about Drake—he borrows styles, but does he really belong?

Then, Kendrick takes it even further:

“No, you not a colleague, you a f**in’ colonizer.”*

This is one of the heaviest lines in the song. A colonizer doesn’t just take—they take and act like they own it. Kendrick is saying that Drake moves through hip-hop the same way colonizers moved through history: claiming things that don’t belong to them.

“Are you my friend? Are we locked in?”

As the song ends, Kendrick shifts from attacking Drake to speaking to the audience. He’s asking: Are you really with me? Do you really support real hip-hop? Or are you just following trends?

This connects to Carolyn Rodgers’ poem “The Last M.F.” Rodgers wrote about how people in her own community could be part of the problem—not just outsiders, but people who allowed the system to stay the same. She wrote:

You think I don’t know what you doin’?
You think I don’t see?

Like Rodgers, Kendrick is saying he sees through the fake loyalty. He wants people to choose: Are you standing for something real, or are you just letting the industry tell you who to support?

Bringing It All Together And Going Beyond Rap

“Not Like Us” is a fight over authenticity and control. Kendrick isn’t just calling Drake out—he’s challenging an entire industry that lets outsiders dictate the culture. This is why he calls Drake a colonizer in the second verse. He’s not just talking about one rapper borrowing flows; he’s talking about a pattern. Drake has built his career off of co-signs—borrowing Atlanta’s lingo, linking with UK drill artists, dropping dancehall-inspired records—without ever really being from those places. Kendrick sees that as cultural tourism, not genuine connection.

And he’s not the first to make this argument—Amiri Baraka called this out decades ago in “Dope,” where he wrote about how Black culture gets repackaged, resold, and stripped of its real meaning. “Not Like Us” takes that same fight and puts it in a modern context.

Then there’s the theme of resistance—of not just letting things slide.

That’s why Kendrick doesn’t just throw light jabs; he swings for the knockout. This connects to Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die”, a poem about fighting back even when the odds are stacked against you. Kendrick takes that same stance: he’s not here to be polite, he’s here to protect what’s his. Look at the “Deebo” reference in the first verse—Kendrick is saying he’s the one who sets the tone, who controls the space. And the way he structured his Super Bowl performance? He turned the biggest stage in America into a victory lap for West Coast hip-hop, making it clear that he’s the one running the culture, not Drake. That performance wasn’t just about the music—it was about claiming territory.

But Kendrick also holds up a mirror to his own community. It’s not just about what Drake does—it’s about the people who enable it. This is where Carolyn Rodgers’ “The Last M.F.” becomes relevant. Rodgers wasn’t afraid to call out her own people for letting things slide, for being part of the same system that holds them back.

Kendrick is doing the same thing. In the outro, when he asks “Are we locked in?”, he’s making it clear: if you’re rocking with him, you better really be about it. And based on how “Not Like Us” became the biggest hit of the feud—playing at parties, in commercials, even getting referenced in lawsuits—it’s clear that the culture already answered that question for him.

The post Kendrick Lamar Not Like Us Lyrics And Meaning: Why This Feud Is Bigger Than Rap appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.