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What Will the Commercial Success of ‘Not Like Us’ Mean for Kendrick Lamar’s Career — Or Drake’s?
Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" has debuted atop the Hot 100 and all but ended his beef with Drake. What does it mean for both rappers going forward?
No story in music this year has been more all-consuming than the ongoing beef between superstar rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar(and a whole lot of supporting characters) — and this week, on the chart dated May 18, the Billboard Hot 100 properly reflects the drama’s cultural dominance. Obviously, the West Coast was always going to eat this song up, but by using “Not Like Us” to draw an “us vs. them” line in the sand between Drake and his fans and the rest of hip-hop culture, Kendrick forced people to pick a side and stand tall in that decision. Jason Lipshutz: “Not Like Us” was released as both a knockout punch and celebration, capping off Kendrick’s speed-bag treatment of Drake’s reputation with his most immediate pop hook in years, a ton of quotable new takedowns and a springy club track courtesy of Mustard.
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