Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” Remains Song Of Summer With Another Week At No. 1
Kendrick Lamar’s smash hit “Not Like Us” reclaimed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Not Like Us” jumped from No. 3 to No. 1 after K. Dot released a music video for the Drake diss track.
“Not Like Us” returned to the top of the Hot 100 with 53.8 million streams, 40 million radio airplay audience impressions and 8,000 copies sold in the U.S. for July 5-11. Kendrick’s single generated over 50 million streams for a fifth week, the most for any song in 2024.
Kendrick dropped “Not Like Us” in May. The track debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100. It was the fourth No. 1 song of K. Dot’s career. He previously scored chart-topping hits with “Humble,” his Taylor Swift collaboration “Bad Blood” and his guest appearance on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That,” which ignited the Pulitzer Prize winner’s battle with Drake.
“Not Like Us” was the knockout blow in Kendrick’s beef with Drake. The two rivals traded diss tracks before “Not Like Us” transcended the battle in a way few rap disses do.
Kendrick ruthlessly attacked Drake on previous disses such as “Euphoria” and “Meet the Grahams,” but the catchiness of “Not Like Us” captured the public’s attention in a completely different way. The DJ Mustard-produced hit crossed over despite lyrics accusing Drake of pedophilia and predatory behavior.
Drake responded to Kendrick with “The Heart Part 6,” but the Canadian star’s retort did nothing to quell the enthusiasm for “Not Like Us.” Kendrick’s diss became a pop culture phenomenon, solidifying itself as the song of summer.
Kendrick added insult to injury by performing “Not Like Us” multiple times at The Pop Out: Ken & Friends concert on Juneteenth. He released the song’s music video on July 4. The video had more than 56 million views on YouTube as of July 15.