Editor’s notice: The next article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the creator’s personal. Learn extra opinions on theGrio.
I used to be in the midst of grilling for a July 4th cookout when my cellphone began to vibrate continuously. I checked my cellphone, and the primary message I noticed was in all caps, “KENDRICK DROPPED THE VIDEO!” Someday throughout the day, Kendrick Lamar dropped the video for his mega-hit Drake diss-record “Not Like Us.”
Since I used to be in the midst of a joyous event, I figured I’d peep the video later that night however my cellphone saved buzzing. Phrases and phrases like, “Drake have to be so mad” and “brooooo” have been a part of quite a lot of group chats. Once I lastly watched the video — this morning — I laughed to myself. Drake might be fully over Kendrick and “Not Like Us” at this level; I doubt he cares anymore. The filth has already been kicked on his hip-hop grave. Drake is sensible sufficient to know this. So to me, the video for “Not Like Us” isn’t a lot about Drake however about being petty and placing on for Compton and Los Angeles.
And Kendrick is absolutely having a superb time.
That’s what I saved pondering to myself all through your entire runtime of the video. It’s a victory lap; Kendrick pulled a number of components of Los Angeles tradition and put them right into a video. For a man whose catalog borders on the intense, he appears to actually be having fun with himself. I imply, he put an OVO (Drake’s October’s Very Personal label) piñata within the video and busted it open. I’ll guess he and Dave Free (Kendrick Lamar’s inventive associate and the video’s co-director with Lamar) obtained an absolute kick out of storyboarding the video. We have now clowning and crumping and Tam’s Burgers (a spot in Compton) and Kendrick doing what appears to be like just like the L.A. entrance yard exercise routine with cinder blocks, which jogs my memory of each L.A.-based hood film from the ’90s. There’s DeMar DeRozan and DJ Mustard and Kendrick’s former TDE labelmates and many individuals from many neighborhoods. Oh, and Kendrick’s longtime associate and the mom of his youngsters, Whitney Alford, who was on the middle of a few of Drake’s allegations in opposition to Kendrick, is within the video C-walking with him and their youngsters. And the caged owl — lawd, the caged owl.
Beneficial Tales
It’s such a hit-song video, and it appears to be like like a lot enjoyable which you could’t assist however understand how a lot of a superb spring and summer season Kendrick is having. This video was the primary in a very long time to make me see him and suppose Kendrick is really having a superb time with all of this. I suppose I might be too if I performed all of it as neatly as he has.
Think about this: Whereas Drake is the larger artist and can stay so, Kendrick fully usurped all of his cool after which demonstrated simply how culturally steeped he’s in L.A. and hip-hop. At each flip, he used each his artistry and the machine he has behind him (not each artist might placed on a diss-record live performance backed by Amazon Prime) to create a real hip-hop second. I train a category on opinion writing at Howard College; when courses begin in August, I’ll most actually be utilizing Kendrick’s summer season as a speaking level to assist my college students perceive easy methods to set up and help their opinions. I will probably be utilizing Kendrick Lamar’s 2024 to show an instructional course. That’s wild. However that’s additionally how good a 2024 he’s having.
The video for “Not Like Us” appears like that to me. As a result of Kendrick’s albums are largely conceptual (and are typically fairly formidable, which generally is a combined bag), you possibly can neglect that he’s a rapper from Compton who cares concerning the tradition of each hip-hop and L.A. This has been a reminder. When he had an opportunity to placed on for each, he did in an enormous, large approach. He discovered a option to mix the tradition with the business, and it labored completely. There are movies of little youngsters singing alongside to “Not Like Us.” My 3-year-old was working round the home saying “O-V-Hoe” (I’m not pleased with this; I informed his brothers to cease letting him watch TikTok movies!). Kendrick has completed this complete second proper with a music that it’s a must to play all over the place and a visible for it that’s as pleasing as it’s deliberate.
Kendrick gained the battle, and on this video, he’s having fun with the victory.
Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Expensive Tradition” on theGrio Black Podcast Community. He writes very Black issues, drinks very brown liquors, and is fairly fly for a lightweight man. His largest accomplishment up to now coincides together with his Blackest accomplishment up to now in that he obtained a cellphone name from Oprah Winfrey after she learn one among his items (largest) however he didn’t reply the cellphone as a result of the caller ID mentioned “Unknown” (Blackest).
