DeMar DeRozan Speaks on ‘Not Like Us’ Cameo: Kendrick Lamar Is ‘D–n Near Family’

DeMar DeRozan addressed his controversial “Not Like Us” cameo. During an interview with Sacramento’s Fox affiliate Fox40’s Sean Cunningham, the new Sacramento Kings player talked about how he ended up in Kendrick Lamar‘s video and whether or not the Kings are still allowed to play Drake inside their home arena the Golden 1 Center.

“We love Drake, we always can play him,” the former Toronto Raptor said. “Kendrick been a friend of mine, family. D–n near family, for a long time, for a while. We’re from the same city, we grew up d–n near in the same neighborhood. … It’s always been there. It hasn’t always been publicized, but, you know, that’s basically family.”

Kendrick name-dropped DeRozan in the second verse of his massive Drake diss song “Not Like Us,” rapping, “I’m glad DeRoz’ came home, y’all didn’t deserve him neither,” referencing the six-time All-Star getting traded from the Toronto Raptors to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard back in 2018.

Not only did DeMar make a cameo in the song’s video when he was mentioned, he was also in attendance at Kendrick’s Pop Out concert on June 19, and was one of the first people to hit the stage to dance to the song while K. Dot was performing it.

DeMar played his first nine seasons in the NBA with the league’s only Canadian team, and appeared on the June 2016 cover of Slam magazine alongside Drake and then teammate Kyle Lowry when he was a member of the Toronto Raptors.

Watch DeMar DeRozan’s interview with Fox40 below: