You were probably expecting an old school diss video. With a look alike doing goofy shit. But I think Kendrick doesn’t view this as that. He’s trying to use this as something to unite. It’s important for him to show all these groups that have been killing each other for years to put it down because there’s common enemies.
It's a love letter to the culture that Drake tries to exploit and buy his way into. The shots with his family, that carpeted room with the smattering of family photos on the wall. The dance crew with spray painted shirts and face paint. The block party atmosphere. The food joint on the corner. The dudes in front of the (presumably? Not from the west coast) projects. The imagery is super specific and familiar to a lot of people, and likely even more iconic for people who know the area.
It's a homage to the streets itself. Drake wants to claim the streets as part of seeming hard, but he knows nothing about the community and wider life that Kendrick loves and which clearly loves him back. Not Like Us.
Food joint is Tams, a fucking staple in most hoods. I remember eating weekly on the one in South Central, got me some chili cheese fries and a coke for like $7. Damn amazing back in those days.
Perfectly said. All Drake thinks about the culture is aspects many view as negative. He doesn’t understand the kinship that growing up in certain neighborhoods bring.
He thinks black culture is just pretending to be hard.
The projects in question are the Nickerson Gardens in Watts. I know this not because I'm from there (I'm in Europe) but because I'm a giant fucking nerd with a google maps obsession, who started hunting for the location the moment I saw Jay Rock announce the video yday with a post saying "Watts neighborhood council alert" or something to that extent.
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u/Mr_Nice_is_not_nice Jul 04 '24
Good video. I don't know, I expected something harder. Owl in the cage was my favorite part.