{"id":120540,"date":"2024-12-16T12:08:26","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T17:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2024\/12\/16\/how-kendrick-lamar-turned-a-bitter-feud-into-a-mainstream-smash-2\/"},"modified":"2024-12-16T12:08:26","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T17:08:26","slug":"how-kendrick-lamar-turned-a-bitter-feud-into-a-mainstream-smash-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2024\/12\/16\/how-kendrick-lamar-turned-a-bitter-feud-into-a-mainstream-smash-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How Kendrick Lamar Turned a Bitter Feud Into a Mainstream\u00a0Smash"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tA 67-year-old billionaire adopting a pop culture catchphrase should be cringe-worthy \u2014 but for Drake<\/a>, it was a reminder of the ubiquity of Kendrick Lamar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter Drake disparaged NBA star DeMar DeRozan, who had previously played for his beloved Toronto Raptors, Vivek Ranadiv\u00e9 (the owner of DeRozan\u2019s current team, the Sacramento Kings) fired back at Drake in defense of his forward. While sitting courtside for a November contest between the Kings and the Raptors, Ranadiv\u00e9 donned a black T-shirt with four words emblazoned across his chest: \u201cThey Not Like Us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Kendrick<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tWith \u2018TV Off,\u2019 Kendrick Lamar Replaces Himself at No. 1 on Hot R&B\/Hip-Hop\u2026\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tCount Ranadiv\u00e9 among the Lamar fans who have puffed out their chests since the Compton, Calif., rapper served up \u201cNot Like Us,\u201d the game-winning shot in his feud with Drake, on May\u00a06. And while hip-hop purists would\u2019ve bet on Drake as the one to walk away from a battle with a hit record, it was K.\u00a0Dot who flipped the script on the Toronto rap deity.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe OVO honcho attempted to land a direct hit of his own with the three-part blitz \u201cFamily Matters,\u201d but Lamar didn\u2019t even give the track a chance to breathe as he followed up 30 minutes later with the diabolical \u201cMeet the Grahams.\u201d Smothering \u201cFamily Matters\u201d shrewdly allowed K.\u00a0Dot to clear the lane and counter with \u201cNot Like Us.\u201d On the latter track, Lamar used producer Mustard\u2019s Cali bounce to peel back the layers of Drake\u2019s cultural identity while repeatedly accusing him of pedophilia.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn response, Drake could only muster up an addition to Lamar\u2019s \u201cThe Heart\u201d song series with \u201cThe Heart Pt.\u00a06,\u201d which found him losing his footing and backpedaling to the defensive. And when the dust settled, the consensus was clear: Lamar had emerged as the champ. Not only was \u201cNot Like Us\u201d a knockout blow, but a pro-Black Los Angeles anthem that is now cemented into rap battle lore alongside classic West Coast dis tracks like Ice Cube\u2019s \u201cNo Vaseline\u201d and 2Pac\u2019s \u201cHit Em Up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen I was growing up, I watched 2Pac, \u2018California Love,\u2019 Dr.\u00a0Dre, Snoop [Dogg], the Death Row days,\u201d Mustard told Billboard<\/em> in October<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s like being a part of that again, but in this day and age.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Drake has been one of pop music\u2019s architects \u2014 collecting 338 Billboard Hot\u00a0100<\/a> entries to Lamar\u2019s 87 \u2014 K.\u00a0Dot won the rap charts battle when \u201cEuphoria\u201d (No.\u00a03) and \u201cNot Like Us\u201d (No.\u00a01) became the only dis tracks in the feud to reach the Hot\u00a0100\u2019s top five. \u201cNot Like Us\u201d not only debuted atop the chart but also set a record on Hot Rap Songs<\/a>: 25 weeks at No.\u00a01 through Nov.\u00a023.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThat\u2019s hard to ignore, especially when you\u2019re evaluating an artist who\u2019s taken pride in being so much bigger than everyone else based on his numbers,\u201d Spotify head of urban music\/creative director Carl Chery says of Lamar besting Drake. \u201cThere were moments where it felt like Drake had the advantage, but in hindsight, Kendrick was ahead every step of the way and his win feels more decisive every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

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