Drake and Kendrick Lamar
Mara Ocejo
Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s feud took the rap world by storm in the spring, while seeping into various pockets of pop culture outside of hip-hop.
The Cali bounce of the Mustard-produced “Not Like Us” ultimately proved to be the knockout punch in Kendrick’s war with the 6 God. While the Drake diss arrived in May, “Not Like Us” has carried considerable momentum as a bona fide song of the summer candidate. Kendrick released the video while the barbecue grills were sizzling on July 4, and the track has returned to the top as it sits at No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100.
The Kendrick-Drake war permeated everything from politics — Joe Biden’s campaign even used “Euphoria” to diss Donald Trump — to sports, with teams seemingly turning “Not Like Us” into an anti-Canadian anthem.
Whether it’s USA Basketball, TNT’s Inside the NBA or MLB walk-up music, athletes and organizations have wrapped their arms around the competitive spirit of Kendrick’s “Not Like Us.” As if it wasn’t bad enough that Drake lost $300,000 betting on Canada in the Copa America semi-final, Argentina soccer’s social media team threw some salt in the wound.
With Drizzy being a mega sports fan, it’s likely some of these have made it onto his radar — although he may very well be avoiding the outside world of social media as a whole this summer.
We compiled a list of the seven times athletes, teams and other sports adjacent figures and entities have used “Not Like Us” to troll Drake and/or Canada.
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TNT’s ‘Inside The NBA’ Chooses a Side in the Feud
TNT’s Inside The NBA crew prides itself on keeping its finger on the pulse of basketball, but also of pop culture. Following the arrival of “Not Like Us,” TNT didn’t waste time in picking sides, while playing the Drake diss going into and out of commercial segments.
“We in the middle of the rap beef, man,” co-host Kenny “The Jet” Smith said during halftime of a Dallas Mavericks-Los Angeles Clippers playoff game in May. “Come on, man. We gon’ play one side, you gotta play the other now.”
None of the Drake diss tracks received airplay on the show, while K. Dot’s assist on “Like That” and his “Euphoria” diss both did.
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Dallas Mavericks Quote “Not Like Us” After Winning Western Conference Finals
The Dallas Mavericks went on a magical playoff run to the 2024 NBA Finals, but ended up losing out in the championship to the Boston Celtics. While they were riding high, the Mavs’ social team quoted “Not Like Us” when the franchise clinched the Western Conference Finals title on May 30.
Prior to Game 1 of the NBA Finals, footage also emerged from a Mavs shootaround featuring players warming up with Lamar’s diabolical “Meet The Grahams” booming through the gym speakers.
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Los Angeles Dodgers Bring “Not Like Us” to Social Media & the Batter’s Box
It’s only fitting the L.A. teams embraced “Not Like Us.” The Los Angeles Dodgers took Kendrick’s diss anthem and used it on social media, as the squad continued to separate themselves from the pack in the National League.
The Mustard-produced Drake diss also became part of the pre-game Dodger Stadium playlist rotation, and second baseman Gavin Lux made the track his walk-up music while getting ready to hit.
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Argentina Trolls Drake After $300,000 Bet Loss
Argentina sped past Canada in the Copa América semi-final last week (July 9). Not only was Drake out $300,000 after betting on his home country to pull the upset, Argentina soccer’s X account poured salt in the wound when quoting Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” following the 2-0 victory.
“Not like us, not with us,” they wrote.
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San Francisco Giants Player Uses “Not Like Us” as Walk-Up Music Against Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays visited California for a three-game set with the San Francisco Giants on July 9 through July 11. So. Cal. native Matt Chapman changed his walk-up music to Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” in May, but some fans found it to “hit different” when the Blue Jays — the MLB’s only team from Canada — came to the West Coast.
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USA Basketball Defeats Canada & Bumps “Not Like Us”
USA Basketball defeated Canada in an exhibition game on July 10 by a score of 86-72. Following the Las Vegas contest, Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” played throughout the T-Mobile Arena as part of America’s post-game celebratory festivities.
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Serena Williams Calls “Not Like Us” the ‘Hit of the Summer’ & Disses Drake at ESPYS
Serena Williams and Drake have plenty of history as they were romantically linked circa 2015. Williams hailed Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” as the “hit of the summer” while speaking at ESSENCE Festival in New Orleans on July 6.
“I love that song. It’s like the hit of the summer,” she said. “When they play that jam, I’m jamming. That jam is jamming.”
The tennis icon continued to take shots at Drizzy and his war with Lamar while hosting the 2024 ESPYS, where she even Crip walked.
“If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that none of us, not a single one of us, not even me, should ever pick a fight with Kendrick Lamar,” she quipped. “He will make your hometown not like you. The next time Drake sits courtside at a Raptors game, they’re going to Forrest Gump him. Seat’s taken.”
Back in 2022, Drake sniped at Williams’ husband and co-founder of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian, on Her Loss cut “Middle of the Ocean”: “Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie/ He claim we don’t got a problem but no, boo, it’s like you comin’ for sushi/ We might pop up on ’em at will like Suzuki.”
Ohanian replied shortly after on X: “The reason I stay winning is because I’m relentless about being the best at whatever I do – including being the best groupie for my wife & daughter.”