Kendrick Lamar has broken down his definition of “not like us,” the dismissive refrain from his hit Drake diss song that has dominated most of 2024.
In his first interview since defeating Drizzy in their long-simmering feud that erupted this past summer, Kendrick spoke to friend and former TDE labelmate SZA for Harper’s Bazaar magazine, whose November issue he covers.
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Although the conversation focused more on spirituality and vulnerability than rap beef, the SOS singer did ask the Compton native what “Not Like Us” means to him.
“[Laughing] Not like us? Not like us is the energy of who I am, the type of man I represent. Now, if you identify with the man that I represent,” Kendrick replied.
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“This man has morals, he has values, he believes in something, he stands on something. He’s not pandering. He’s a man who can recognize his mistakes and not be afraid to share the mistakes and can dig deep down into fear-based ideologies or experiences to be able to express them without feeling like he’s less of a man.”
He added: “If I’m thinking of ‘Not Like Us,’ I’m thinking of me and whoever identifies with that.”
SZA then asked Kendrick how he makes such combative songs considering he is not an angry person.
“I don’t believe I’m an angry person. But I do believe in love and war, and I believe they both need to exist,” he explained.
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“And my awareness of that allows me to react to things but not identify with them as who I am. Just allowing them to exist and allowing them to flow through me. That’s what I believe.”
The interview also found Kendrick Lamar talking about his relationship with God and passion for running.
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“Ain’t no bullshit. Ain’t no cliché. But I literally talk to God,” he said. “Like, it’s to a point where I’ll be starting to think I’m going crazy. But then He has to remind me, ‘No, this is really me.’
“My early-morning practice is that I have to run. When I started running, that’s where I started to understand. There was this threshold of pain in the spirituality for me. I remember my shins was aching and I was like, I got one mile to go.
“Then I get whispers and downloads and start talking about shit that I want to know about. And next thing I’m three miles in, four miles in. I wake up and do that shit every day.”
The Pulitzer Prize-winner, who is currently filming his debut movie with the co-creators of South Park, also hinted at branching out into different creative fields.
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“I feel my work in music is just the start. I don’t think it’s my end goal. I know it’s not my end goal. Music is just a vessel to get me there,” he teased.
He added: “I don’t [know what that looks like]. I’m curious, and that’s what keeps me energized […] I’m gonna let God shape it. I love the mystery of it. I have to have it. I have to. The chase of it all.”
