Breaking Down All of the Ways Kendrick Lamar Attacked Drake on “Not Like Us"

Accusations about Drake’s history with underaged women have become a recurring topic in Kendrick’s diss tracks, and he continues to find new ways to hurl these heavy claims at the Toronto rapper, including: 

“What's up with these jabroni-ass niggas tryna see Compton? The industry can hate me, fuck 'em all and they momma/ How many opps you really got? I mean it's too many options/ I'm finna pass on this body, I'm John Stockton”

The opening bar could be Kendrick’s way of refuting Drake’s lyrics on “Push Ups” where he claimed that he “gets more love in the city that [Kendrick] from.” Then Kendrick throws a jab at Drake’s rumored age preferences when it comes to women. Dot says that he’d pass on these young women like he’s John Stockton, which is a double entendre about the legendary passer who holds the NBA record for most all-time assists (Stockton also played with Karl Malone, who reportedly impregnated a 13-year-old girl when he was 20 years old).

“Say, Drake, I hear you like 'em young/ You better not ever go to cell block one/ To any bitch that talk to him and they in love/ Just make sure you hide your lil' sister from him”

Kendrick brings back similar themes from “Meet the Grahams” when he said that celebrities should keep their daughters away from Drake. This time, he says that younger siblings should keep away as well. Warning Drake to stay away from “cell block one” could be Kendrick’s way of referencing how sex offenders are targeted in prison, while also calling back his bar on “Meet the Grahams” where he rapped that the Toronto rapper (and Harvey Weinstein) “should get fucked up in a cell for the rest of they life.”

“Why you trollin' like a bitch? Ain't you tired? Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A-Minor”

Kendrick is referencing all of the memes that Drake had been posting last month when he was trolling Dot to respond to him. Well, now Kendrick has relentlessly responded over and over. From there, he deviously sets up a double entendre with music note terminology to insinuate that the real “chord” that Drake is trying to strike is “a minor,” continuing to drive home the point he’s been making about the Toronto rapper’s rumored underage women preferences.

“Fucked on Wayne girl while he was in jail, that's connivin'/ Then get his face tatted like a bitch apologizin'”

Kendrick is implying that Drake was intimate with Lil Wayne’s girlfriend while Weezy was in prison, and then got his arm tattooed with the Young Money rapper’s face several years later in 2017 as a way to apologize. Wayne confirmed this rumor in 2016 in his Gone Til November memoir when he wrote, “I'm used to arguing with my girl on a daily basis, but finding out that she fucked Drake was the absolute worst thing I could've found out.” Then he confirmed it again in an interview not long after.

“And your home, boy need subpoena, that predator move in flocks/ That name gotta be registered and placed on neighborhood watch”

This line connects directly to the cover art for “Not Like Us,” which is a satellite image of Drake’s Toronto estate (The Embassy) with 13 pins that are commonly used to indicate where registered sex offenders are living. Kendrick is implying that Drake’s entire home needs to be registered in the sex offenders watchlist because of his accusations that the Toronto rapper and members of his OVO crew of being deviants. This comes after Dot rapped on “Meet the Grahams” that ​​“The Embassy ‘bout to get raided, too, it’s only a matter of time.”

“He a fan, he a fan, he a—/ Freaky-ass nigga, he a 69 God/ Freaky-ass nigga, he a 69 God”

Kendrick appears to have made “Freaky-ass nigga” double as an acronym for “fan,” and then uses Drake’s “6 God” nickname against him by flipping the number to make it associated with the sex position. The bar could also be referencing rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine, who in 2018 plead guilty to a felony count for use of a child in a sexual performance with a 13-year-old girl. This could also be an allusion to Drake’s song “9” where he raps, “Turn the 6 upside, it’s a 9 now,” with Kendrick implying that he’s now flipping the rapper (and the city) on its head with this diss track.

Kendrick has been taking subtle shots at the members of Drake’s OVO crew on “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA,” but he takes even more direct aim here, referencing them by name and calling out both Drake’s right-hand man Chubbs and artist/former bodyguard Baka Not Nice. He also creates a hilarious call-and-response at the end of the track, changing OVO to “OV-Hoe.”

“Did Cole fouI, I don't know why you still pretendin'/ What is the owl? Bird niggas and burnt bitches, go”

Kendrick seems to be saying that Drake did J. Cole dirty (perhaps referencing rumors that Drake wanted all three of them to be on “First Person Shooter”), before associating the OVO owl with “bird niggas and burnt bitches.” Using the word “foul” to double as “fowl,” he adds another layer to the bird jokes.

“They tell me Chubbs the only one that get your hand-me-downs/ And Party at the party, playin' with his nose now/ And Baka got a weird case, why is he around? Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles”

Kendrick starts by using a play on words to call out Drake’s right-hand man Chubbs, who he says gets the women that The Boy doesn’t want, before accusing PartyNextDoor of having a drug problem. Then he addresses Baka Not Nice, who was arrested in 2014 for allegedly prostituting a 22-year-old woman, and later pleaded guilty to assaulting another 22-year-old Toronto woman in 2015. Kendrick then turns Drake’s Certified Lover Boy album title against him and calls his crew “certified pedophiles.” 

Dot dedicates the entire final verse to picking apart Drake’s relationship with the city of Atlanta and its major rappers, suggesting that he only works with these acts to gain something from them, whether it’s street credibility or to simply be more accepted in hip-hop culture, further portraying him as an outsider. 

“Once upon a time, all of us was in chains/ Homie still doubled down callin' us some slaves

These lines are in direct response to Drake’s opening bars on “Family Matters” where he spit, “Always rappin’ like you ’bout to get the slaves freed/ You just actin' like an activist, it’s make-believe.” Kendrick flips those sarcastic bars against Drake, saying that these sentiments prove his point on “Euphoria” that he is an outsider of the culture, as well as the jabs on “Meet the Grahams” about how Drake only embraces his Blackness when it’s convenient. 

“Atlanta was the Mecca, buildin' railroads and trains/ Bear with me for a second, let me put y'all on game/ The settlers was usin' town folk to make 'em richer/ Fast-forward, 2024, you got the same agenda”

Dot gives a history lesson about how the city of Atlanta was built on the backs of slaves, comparing white settlers who exploited slave labor to Drake using Atlanta rappers (and their culture) to build his career.

“You run to Atlanta when you need a check balance/ Let me break it down for you, this the real nigga challenge/ You called Future when you didn't see the club/ Lil Baby helped you get your lingo up/ 21 gave you false street cred/ Thug made you feel like you a slime in your head/ Quavo said you can be from Northside/ 2 Chainz say you good, but he lied”

After breaking down Atlanta’s history, Kendrick accuses Drake of using his frequent collaborators from the A—Future, Lil Baby, 21 Savage, Young Thug, Quavo, and 2 Chainz—to help advance his career. Future and Drake first collaborated together in 2011 on Hendrix’s “Tony Montana,” and Kendrick is suggesting that The Boy needed him to reach the club scene in the city. Lil Baby and Drake first worked together on Baby’s “Yes Indeed” and Kendrick accuses Drake of borrowing slang from him. Dot goes on to insinuate that Drake sought varying degrees of street credibility from 21 Savage, Young Thug, and Quavo, and received a false co-sign from 2 Chainz.

“No, you not a colleague, you a fuckin' colonizer/ The family matter, and the truth of the matter, it was God's plan to show y'all the liar” 

Kendrick’s Atlanta history lesson comes full circle in the track's closing lyrics, as Dot once again accuses Drake of being a colonizer, similar to the ones who first moved into the city. Then he flips Drake’s “Family Matters” and “God’s Plan” song titles against him.