• Sarcastic tone, very tongue-in-cheek.

• This song is a diss track written on Drake.

  
  

Hanna Martin

"Say Drake i hear you like 'em young you better not ever go cell block one" This is a direct jab at the accusations of Drake being a pedophile.

EmilyW

In previous diss tracks, Drake accused Kendrick Lamar of having a disingenuous rap career with all of his successes attributed to the work of other artists and an unhealthy private life where Kendrick would beat his wife and neglect his children.

In "Not Like Us," Kendrick reminds the audience of Drake's disrespect towards Tupac and west coast hip-hop with lines such as, "You think the Bay gone let you disrespect Pac, n!gga? I think that Oakland show gone be your last stop, n!gga." Additionally, Kendrick accuses Drake of collaborating with rising artists from Atlanta solely for money (instead of community) using an analogy relating "settlers [using] town folk to make 'em richer," to Drake having "the same agenda." These lyrics attack Drake's career and show the hypocrisy of his previous claims against Kendrick as an artist.

Kendrick addresses Drake's attacks against his family life in the "Not Like Us" music video where he, his fiancé, and his two children are dancing and smiling together. In that clip, Kendrick's wife is ironically wearing a wife-beater (i.e. a white tank-top). On the other hand, Kendrick also criticizes Drake and his recording label's private life, referencing their album Certified Lover Boy by calling them "Certified pedophiles." Furthermore, Kendrick brings up that Drake slept with Lil Wayne's wife --- a sour jab considering how Lil Wayne has been a mentor to Drake since 2009. Kendrick was able to dismiss Drake's accusations about his private life and retaliate with stronger, more credible accusations of his own.

Edward Simkins

Lyrics Link: https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-not-like-us-lyrics