Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” Just Got Its First Awards Nomination

BYGabriel Bras Nevares4.4K Views
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Kendrick Lamar music video shoot for "Not Like Us"
Compton, CA - June 22: Kendrick Lamar prepares to perform during the music video shoot for "Not Like Us" at Compton Courthouse on Saturday, June 22, 2024 in Compton, CA. (Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Kendrick just opened his mouth...

One of the funniest lines in the whole Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef comes on The Boy's "Family Matters": "Kendrick just opened his mouth, someone go hand him a Grammy right now." Not only is it a comically dismissive assessment making fun of K.Dot glazers in the white-dominated industry, but it's also pretty accurate at Drizzy's expense. Because it seems like the most fun, mocking, disparaging, and lightly disrespectful track in the whole battle, "Not Like Us," is not just a hit with fans and critics, but with awards shows. Moreover, the Mustard-produced banger has just received its first award nomination: Song of the Year at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.

While it's no golden gramophone, it's still a pretty big and visible award that speaks to what Drake meant to say about Kendrick Lamar. Disses aside, the song and music video is undeniably worthy of high praise from pretty much every corner under the sun. But there are a lot of fans out there that find this nomination (and presumably more to come) pretty odd. On one hand, it's a great song and visual treatment, but on the other, do we really want big corporations and the larger music industry to chip into a rap beef that should really just be a one-on-one cultural affair?

Kendrick Lamar Pops Out In MTV VMAs Nominations

OVO Stans will use this and other "Not Like Us" nominations to call Drake a prophet and clown Kendrick Lamar even further, whereas pgLang fans will rejoice in how embarrassing of a look this is for Aubrey Graham in the industry. But at the end of the day, a huge chunk of both fanbases couldn't care less about awards, and would rather have ceremonies ignore their material instead of trying to pick a side, remove their context, or give praise to both.

We'll see how this discourse evolves, and whether or not Kendrick Lamar or Drake actually show up to the event. We don't have a clear idea of what all the nominations for this year's VMAs look like, so keep an eye out for that in the coming days. In any case, the ceremony goes down on September 10. Will the Compton lyricist pop out, is this just an obligatory nomination, or does he really not care at all as long as the culture knows his victory?

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a music and pop culture news writer for HotNewHipHop. He started in 2022 as a weekend writer and, since joining the team full-time, has developed a strong knowledge in hip-hop news and releases. Whether it’s regular coverage or occasional interviews and album reviews, he continues to search for the most relevant news for his audience and find the best new releases in the genre. What excites him the most is finding pop culture stories of interest, as well as a deeper passion for the art form of hip-hop and its contemporary output. Specifically, Gabriel enjoys the fringes of rap music: the experimental, boundary-pushing, and raw alternatives to the mainstream sound. As a proud native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he also stays up-to-date with the archipelago’s local scene and its biggest musical exponents in reggaetón, salsa, indie, and beyond. Before working at HotNewHipHop, Gabriel produced multiple short documentaries, artist interviews, venue spotlights, and audio podcasts on a variety of genres and musical figures. Hardcore punk and Go-go music defined much of his coverage during his time at the George Washington University in D.C. His favorite hip-hop artists working today are Tyler, The Creator, Boldy James, JPEGMAFIA, and Earl Sweatshirt.
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