“Not Like Us”, in which Lamar accuses Drake (real name Aubrey Graham) of being a paedophile, was bad enough, but the procession of industry awards, and now the triumphant Super Bowl appearance, has taken it to new and unprecedented waters.
Drake, who has denied the accusations of paedophilia, is currently suing his (and Lamar’s) record company Universal Music Group (UMG) for allegedly inflating streams of the single in an effort to artificially goose Lamar’s popularity, and for defamation.
The Super Bowl may be Lamar’s vituperative final shot in a mud-slinging diss track back-and-forth that began in 2013 – when Drake was slighted alongside several other rappers in Kendrick’s seismic guest verse on “Control” by Big Sean.
This is true too of the allegations made against Lamar in Drake’s own diss tracks, including unsubstantiated accusations of domestic violence, which Lamar has denied.
Midway through “Not Like Us”, Lamar’s Grammy-winning, multi-platinum-charting 2024 single, the artist turns to the camera to directly address the song’s target, Canadian hip-hop star Drake.
