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Kendrick Lamar celebrated the Fourth of July by releasing the music video for his Drake diss track Not Like Us. The MV for the track features symbolic visuals, his hometown of Compton, and dancing.
Drake and Lamar have been beefing since 2013, but things took a serious turn earlier this year with both rappers dropping diss tracks after another aimed at the other. This includes Drake's Family Matters and The Heart Part 6 and Kendrick's Euphoria and meet the grahams.
Content Warning: The following video contains strong language. Viewer discretion is advised.
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However, many fans believe Not Like Us, which debuted on May 4, 2024, atop the charts, won Kendrick the beef. The MV featured a host of cameos, including Tommy the Clown and Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan.
A list of all the cameos seen in Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us music video
Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free directed the Not Like Us MV. Just hours after its release, it went viral, with over 14 million views and 2.1 million likes as of this writing.
Clocking just under the 6-minute mark, it features iconic landmarks across Compton, including Compton City Courthouse, Tam's Burgers, and Nickerson Gardens (an apartment complex).
Below is a list of all the artists who were featured (in the order of their appearance) on the MV.
1) Tommy the Clown and his Hip Hop Clowns
Tommy the Clown is a dancer best known for inventing the "clowning" style of dance that eventually became krumping.
Early in the video, Kendrick Lamar walks across a dimly lit passage and knocks at a door. This prompts the dancer to open an eye hole and ask for the password. Kenny whispers the code, "I see dead people," and he is allowed entry. The rapper sits among other "Hip Hop Clowns" (also the name for Tommy and his dancers), and Tommy plays Not Like Us on his phonograph.
Later in the video, Lamar and the Hip Hop Clowns perform in Tommy's presence.
2) Mustard
Dijon Isaiah McFarlane, a.k.a. Mustard is a record producer and a DJ. Mustard rose to fame working with Tyga for his 2011 single Rake City. According to Billboard, Dijon wanted to work with Kendrick Lamar for a long time, even admitting to sending Kendrick "five beats a day" at one point.
Mustard predominantly produced Not Like Us and also appears (riding shotgun) driving through Compton in a black Ferrari with the rapper. Interestingly, during his appearance, Dijon dons a Toronto Blue Jays hat. The duo then stops at Tam's Burgers to grab a bite.
3) Storm DeBarge
Storm DeBarge, also called "Queen of the Dougie," is a dancer from Lon Angeles who went viral in the 2010s during the "jerking" movement. She dances at Tam's Burgers in the video.
4) Charm La'Donna
Charm La'Donna is a dancer and choreographer hailing from Compton. She has worked with Kendrick Lamar several times, including co-choreographing his 2015 BET Awards performance and the 2018 Grammy's opening act. Per a 2018 Fader article, she was the choreographer and the sole female dancer to join the rapper on his DAMN. tour.
Per GQ, La'Donna is the choreographer and associate producer on Not Like Us. She also walks and dances on a tightrope in the MV.
6) DeMar DeRozan
DeMar DeRozan is a Compton native and a professional NBA player who last played for the Chicago Bulls. He appears in the MV when it cuts shots featuring shipping containers. Referencing DeMar's brief stint with the Toronto Raptors, Canada's sole NBA team, Kendrick Lamar raps,
"I’m glad DeRoz’ came home, y’all didn’t deserve him neither"
Drake has been the global ambassador for the team since 2013. In 2018, DeRozan got traded by the Raptors for Kawhi Leonard, and he has expressed his disappointment at the move several times.
7) Dave Free
Free is a record producer and filmmaker, best known for his creative work with Kendrick Lamar. Per a 2016 Forbes report, he began working as a computer technician while helping Kendrick with his career. He used his job to showcase the rapper's music to TDE (Top Dawg Entertainment) head Anthony Tiffith, who would later sign Lamar in 2005.
Free later became TDE's co-president and later Kenny's manager. In March 2020, the duo launched their company, PGLang. Dave Free is the co-director of Not Like Us. He appears during the shipping container scene in the MV.
5) TDE artists and top executives
Around the 3:20 mark, the video features a bunch of Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) cameos. This included artists like Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q, and Ab-Soul, along with TDE top execs, Terrence "Punch" Henderson, Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, and Anthony "Moosa" Tiffith Jr., all standing with Lamar at the Nickerson Gardens.
In his Lamar diss track Push Ups, Drake had taken a shot at Lamar's relationship with TDE, rapping,
"Extortion baby, whole career you been shook up/ ’Cause Top told you drop and give me 50 like some push-ups."
While Kendrick Lamar left TDE in 2022, they have maintained a close relationship. While leaving, Lamar shared a statement on his website expressing his joy at being a part of his former label, calling it a "brotherhood." In a 2022 interview with MIC, Punch stated,
"We watched him grow from a teenager up into an established grown man, a businessman, and one of the greatest artists of all time. So how long do you actually be signed up under somebody? It’s been almost 20 years. So it’s time to move on and try new things and venture out."
Other notable cameos in the song
At a point in the video, Kendrick Lamar's wife and kids join the rapper, and they dance together as he raps,
"The family matter and the truth of the matter/ It was God's plan to show y'all the liar."
In his diss track Family Matters, Drake accused Lamar of infidelity and domestic abuse. Drake also claimed Dave Free was the father of one of Lamar's children. With Free directing and his family's appearance in the MV, Kendrick Lamar is putting the claims to rest.
There are several visual references to Drake's OVO label as an owl, which is associated with the brand. There are shots of an owl in a cage and Kendrick smashing an owl piñata as a disclaimer, "no OVH*es were harmed during the making of this video," flashes across the screen.
Weeks after its release, Not Like Us continues to generate buzz. On Juneteenth, Kendrick Lamar performed the track six times at his Pop Out concert in Los Angeles. Taraji P. Henson opened the 2024 BET Awards by rapping to a version of the song, celebrating black culture and inclusivity (donning an outfit similar to the one Kendrick wore at the Pop Out Show).
