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Kendrick Lamar Dodges Drake Feud, Declares Dissident 'Not Like Us'

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Kendrick Lamar explains the meaning of “Not Like Us” — without ever saying the name Drake.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper, 37, spoke with SZA in an interview for Harper's Bazaar published on Monday and was asked to explain what his Drake diss track “Not Like Us” means to him. Lamar didn't mention the man who inspired the song anywhere in the interview, but said that “Not Like Us” reflected his own morals and values.

“Not like us? Not like us is the energy of who I am, the type of man I represent,” Lamar said. “Now if you identify with the man I represent… This man has morals, he has values, he believes in something, he stands for something. He’s not a softy.”

He continued: “He is a man who can recognize his flaws and is not afraid to share the flaws, and who can delve deep into fear-based ideologies or experiences to express them without feeling like he is less of a man.” be. When I think of 'Not Like Us,' I think of myself and the person who identifies with it.”

“Not Like Us” was released in May amid a feud between Lamar and Drake, which saw both rappers release dissident tracks aimed at each other. On “Not Like Us,” Lamar mentions Drake by name and raps, “Say Drake, I heard you like 'em young.” He also raps, referencing Drake's album Certified Lover Boy, “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles.”

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The cover of “Not Like Us” featured a photo of Drake's house covered in red markers used to identify registered sex offenders.

Drake and Lamar's feud escalated in March after Lamar appeared on Future and Metro Boomin's song “Like That” and denied that he, Drake and J. Cole were the “big three” in rap, as J. Cole in a commenter claimed earlier song. “I’m just big,” Lamar explained.

Kendrick Lamar says he's not an “angry person” but believes in “love and war”

Elsewhere in the Harper's Bazaar interview, SZA asked Lamar if his music comes from an angry place, and he denied that it did.

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“I don’t think I’m an angry person,” he said. “But I believe in love and war, and I believe that both must exist. And my awareness of this allows me to react to things but not identify with them as who I am. I just let them exist and let them flow through me. That's what I believe.

Lamar also touched on his spirituality in the interview, sharing, “I literally talk to God. At some point I start to think I'm going crazy. But then He has to remind me, 'No.' 'That's really me.'”

Lamar is expected to headline the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show in February, the NFL announced last month. “Rap music remains the most influential genre to this day,” Lamar said in a statement at the time. “And I will be there to remind the world why. You have the right thing.”

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