“What's so bad about being a 69 God?”— Keke Palmer questions Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us' diss lyric aimed at Drake

Compton rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar released the diss track Not Like Us in May 2024 directed at his longtime rival and Toronto rapper Drake amid their ongoing rap battle. In the diss track, K-Dot used the phrase “He a 69 God” multiple times while referring to Drake, a play on the latter’s nickname for himself, aka, 6 God.

On June 27, actress, singer, and TV host Keke Palmer took to her Instagram and raised a query about “69 God.” She asked in a video:

“Now, this is no shade, no tea, but I have a question, okay? Because I know the rap kids they do a lot of these little clever little lines, especially someone like Kendrick. But I am really curious about what’s so bad about being a 69 God?”

The Password host further asked whether she was missing something inner and deeper in meaning.

So far, neither Drake nor Kendrick Lamar has responded to her query.

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Exploring the meaning of "69 God" in Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us

In Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss track Not Like Us, he repeats the expression “He a 69 God” throughout the song. It first appears towards the end of the second verse where K-Dot raps:

“One, two, three, four, five, plus five, ayy/ Devil is a lie, he a 69 God.”

Later, towards the end of the diss track, the bridge contained repetitive references as well.

While the exact meaning of the phrase “69 God” remains undisclosed, listeners and music experts speculated that K-Dot was referring to Tekashi69 or 6ix9ine, the Brooklyn rapper whose real name is Daniel Hernandez. He made headlines in 2015 after pleading guilty to a felony count of misconduct involving a minor.

In the wake of this, he was arrested and sentenced to a four-year probation and 1000 hours of community service. Experts believe that Kendrick Lamar's diss track had undertones that Drake too was involved in similar acts like 6ix9ine.

Apart from the "69 God" reference, elsewhere in Not Like Us’ lyrics, K-Dot accused Drizzy of similar misconduct, including in the lines, “Certified Lover Boy? Certified p*dophiles” and “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A-minor”, among others.

Meanwhile, it is to be noted that Drake often calls himself the ‘6 God’ referencing his hometown which is nicknamed 6ix, thus implying that he is the God of Toronto. K-Dot’s diss track, then, may have simply been a clever wordplay.

The Pulitzer winner’s previous Drake diss tracks, Euphoria and Meet the Grahams, also contained similar allegations.

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Notably, Keke Palmer is not the first person to use the phrase "69 God." Earlier, in May, right after the release of Not Like Us, rapper Jay Rock took to X and addressed Drizzy fans by writing, "Don't be mad at me y'all 69 God lost."

In this way, he declared Kendrick Lamar as the winner of the rap battle between him and Drake.