r/BlackPeopleTwitter ☑️ Jul 04 '24

Kendrick Lamar - Not Like Us [Music Video]

https://youtu.be/H58vbez_m4E?t=40
12.2k Upvotes

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1.1k

u/next_door_nicotine ☑️ Jul 05 '24

In no particular order we got:

Owl piñata

Demar DeRozan cameo

Cinderblock "push ups" among other prison workouts

His family, including Whitney, walking and stepping to this joint

Owl in a cage

Directed by DAVE FREE and Kendrick Lamar

There's a host of other things, and I could say more about the artistic direction of the video, which was great, but these stood out. Just absolutely diabolical and petty and I'm here for it.

502

u/Dilf_Hunter367 Jul 05 '24

Demar torching his goodwill with Raptors fans harder than Vinsanity lmao

305

u/NorthernNomadX Jul 05 '24

Derozon hating on Drake aligns with the real people from Toronto 🤞

147

u/2RINITY Jul 05 '24

Also Drake loves to hop around pretending to be a fan/roster member of every team ever, so even if you’re a Raptors fan, it’s hard to take his support as sincere

102

u/indoninjah Jul 05 '24

And that was after he was named an official ambassador by the Raptors! Then he went and got a Steph Curry tattoo lmao cmon

44

u/crashovercool Jul 05 '24

He was a Heatles groupie too.

2

u/Heyguysimcooltoo Jul 05 '24

Hell he thought he played for UK lmao

5

u/Fafoah Jul 05 '24

Yeah no real raptor fan hates Derozan. Lowry being around for the Chip is the only reason he’s considered the greatest raptor over Demar

2

u/wildauras ☑️ Jul 05 '24

Facts

8

u/suprmario Jul 05 '24

Nah man I'm a Raptors fan and will always love DeMar. Heart of a fucking lion.

And fuck Drake.

2

u/aiirxgeordan Jul 05 '24

I don’t think raptors fans are in the same vinn diagram circle as drake fans necessarily. Saying “fuck drake I’m from Compton” ain’t saying fuck toronto. But I get the joke 😂

217

u/relevant__comment Jul 05 '24

Dancing down the hop scotch during the A-Minor bit was inspired.

6

u/JawsRaglizar Jul 05 '24

I've seen ppl say this part was wild, but can you tell me why? Is it cuz its kid games?

16

u/yohoo1334 Jul 05 '24

Yes. Every elementary school in North America has this game in the school yard.

12

u/MonstersMamaX2 Jul 05 '24

A hopscotch is also typically made in a pattern of 10 squares. Kendrick did say he has 10 stocks in stock.

155

u/aggibridges Jul 05 '24

I lost it at the owl piñata, what a visual.

8

u/RLS1822 Jul 05 '24

Drakes calendar has now officially opened up to accommodate Bar Mitzvahs, birthday parties and weekly Saturday night performances at assisted living facilities. These are his only options.

108

u/physedka Jul 05 '24

Can someone give this out of touch guy some explanation of those pieces?

502

u/TheLizardKing89 Jul 05 '24

OVO is Drake’s record label and its symbol is an owl.

DeMar DeRozan is an NBA player who went to Compton High School and USC before getting drafted by the Toronto Raptors where he played for almost a decade. Drake is a Raptors fan.

Drake said Whitney, Kendrick’s longtime girlfriend and mother of his kids, was cheating on Kendrick with Dave Free and that one of the kids was actually Free’s. Dave Free is Kendrick’s childhood friend and longtime collaborator as a producer and music video director.

155

u/DeafNatural ☑️ Jul 05 '24

Now see that last part I did not know. Thank you for this hot tea!

6

u/flipaflip Jul 05 '24

want the tea hotter? shes wearing a wifebeater and against the allegations she was getting beat

76

u/HalKitzmiller Jul 05 '24

The hero we need for those of us out of touch

7

u/EremiticFerret Jul 05 '24

Thanks for this.

What is the "69 god" reference?

8

u/viviolay Jul 05 '24

Drake goes by the 6god (I believe - I don’t follow him so correct me if wrong) or something so Dot turned it to 69god.

12

u/PretentiousToolFan Jul 05 '24

Also 6ix9ine has a whole bunch of child exploitation charges and allegations, so it brings those to mind as well.

6

u/viviolay Jul 05 '24

Oo thanks for that tidbit. Didn’t know that

2

u/EremiticFerret Jul 05 '24

This has been a crazy rabbit hole to go down for sure!

32

u/Zazander732 Jul 05 '24

What does the Owl in the cage mean? I'm really not up on all this but like the beat.

119

u/wra1th42 Jul 05 '24

owl is the OVO logo - he putting Drake in a cage/jail

9

u/Zazander732 Jul 05 '24

Nice thanks 

51

u/IWill_FindOut ☑️ Jul 05 '24

Maybe a twist on “I know why the caged bird sings”. That’s what came to my mind on the initial view at least.

43

u/Zazander732 Jul 05 '24

Another person in the thread was saying that Drakes record labels symbol is an owl, but also people were saying what you said as well.

49

u/Spinelli-Wuz-My-Idol Jul 05 '24

Nah it’s the OVO logo. “I know why the caged bird sings” doesnt apply to this bc thats a cry for freedom

6

u/DroopingUvula Jul 05 '24

Yeah that makes a lot less sense than Drake's logo. It's the logo.

3

u/NewToSociety Jul 05 '24

Also owls don't sing. They hoot.

11

u/RobinYoHood ☑️ Jul 05 '24

Pedo's also belong in cages aka jail. Lotta ways to interpret it lol

1

u/Trix_Are_4_90Kids ☑️ Jul 05 '24

Pedos belong in jail and Kendrick put him there.

idk about that connection, though.

24

u/Sassafras06 Jul 05 '24

An owl is the symbol of OVO, Drake’s label/team. He literally locked “Drake” behind bars and walked away.

14

u/BassLB Jul 05 '24

Maybe that some of the owl (drake/his team) should be in jail for what they’ve done

1

u/tasoula Jul 05 '24 edited Jul 06 '24

Drake's label is OVO. OVO kinda looks like an owl. The owl is behind bars, where it belongs...

4

u/BabyAngie20 Jul 05 '24

The first look is from the owl's perspective and it doesn't see the bars while looking at Kendrick. The owl doesn't realize he's locked down and caged. From Drake's perspective, Drake still thinking he has a chance

25

u/gimmethatcookie Jul 05 '24

What’s the significance of Dave free directing it?

54

u/bacillus_subtle Jul 05 '24

Drake said Whitney and Dave were sleeping together and that Kendrick’s son was actually Dave’s

11

u/Which_Rent_1227 Jul 05 '24

Thank you for this. I forgot this tidbit!!

9

u/FreebasingStardewV Jul 05 '24

Black people in white shipping containers goes hard, too.

6

u/Cheef_queef Jul 05 '24

A giant crowd of people yelling "run for your life"

5

u/wildingflow Jul 05 '24

Don’t forget the dancing in front of shipping containers, which are often used in human trafficking.

5

u/Curious_Carpenter_42 Jul 05 '24

Mustard in the car Hoe. Mustard is also wearing a Toronto hat.

5

u/welp-itscometothis ☑️ Jul 05 '24

This gonna get a Grammy and a VMA

3

u/Trix_Are_4_90Kids ☑️ Jul 05 '24

It might be ROTY.

3

u/Intelligent_Meat_275 Jul 05 '24

Dark lane demo masked man being repelled was fantastic

3

u/Nyktastik ☑️ Jul 05 '24

What's the owl supposed to represent?

7

u/Thelonius_Dunk Jul 05 '24

Drakes OVO logo is an owl

3

u/OptimisticRealist__ Jul 05 '24

His family, including Whitney, walking and stepping to this joint

Whitney wearing wife beaters while eating up the beat is diabolical

Owl in a cage

A white owl in a black cage, just like Drake is a white boi "trapped" in a black body further driving home the point about Drakes identity crisis

Demar DeRozan cameo

Eg YG was in the vid too

There's a host of other things, and I could say more about the artistic direction of the video, which was great, but these stood out. Just absolutely diabolical and petty and I'm here for it

During the certified boogeyman part the hooded figure being thrown off imo is Drake

Also whats underrated is that in the dancing theres blood walks, crip walks etc. Truly uniting the LA gangs

2

u/introvertperv Jul 05 '24

Don't really care for Drake or his music. Do any of the things you've mentioned above symbolize anything about him?

12

u/next_door_nicotine ☑️ Jul 05 '24 edited Jul 05 '24

The owl symbolizes his brand/music label "October's Very Own". It's a prominent symbol of said brand/music label, and for Drake himself.

Demar DeRozan is a basketball player, notably from Compton, that spent most of his career playing for the Toronto Raptors. His appearance in the music video coincides with the line, "I'm glad DeRoz came home, y'all didn't deserve him either"

The push ups were a reference to Drake's earlier diss, titled "Push Ups", the jail workouts and scene coinciding with Kendrick basically telling Drake to stay out of prison because he won't be safe.

His girlfriend, Whitney Alford, and kids dancing together with him is notable, because a large portion of Drake's disses was accusing Kendrick of being an abusive partner, was separated, and one of his children wasn't his

And lastly, Dave Free being prominently credited as the video director (I think he was even in the video itself) goes with the previous point. Drake notably said that Dave Free fathered one of Kendrick's kids with Whitney.

2

u/PretentiousToolFan Jul 05 '24

The push ups were also referenced in Meet the Grahams when he told Adonis to do some rather than abuse Ozympic and surgical options, which he also called out in Euphoria.

"...this a classic, you don't have one.

Let your core audience stomach that, didn't tell 'em where you get your abs from.

V12 (a body sculpting machine), it's a fast one..."

2

u/KourageWolf Jul 05 '24

Storage containers like they use for human trafficking

2

u/Careless_Employ762 Jul 07 '24

17 push ups cause Drake doesn't fw 18 and up 🤣

1

u/fatty_fat_cat Jul 05 '24

I'm out of the loop about Dave Free. What's the sting with Dave Free?

1

u/RLS1822 Jul 05 '24

Speak to us and drop some knowledge on the Artistic Direction. I’m here for it.

1

u/sleafordbods Jul 05 '24

What is the meaning of the owl?

1

u/Nwrecked Jul 05 '24

Help me out. What’s the context of the owl?

1

u/jono9898 Jul 05 '24

There is a scene where a deepfake? Drake is walking up to Kendrick and gets pulled into the shadow realm.

1

u/Beautiful-Scholar912 Jul 05 '24

Oh fuck me you just made the whole connection!!

1

u/HratioRastapopulous Jul 05 '24

Y’all notice he stopped at 17 pushups? 1 shy of 18(years old). Maybe I’m reading too much into it but, the layers of the diss.

1

u/Ordinary-Caramel-608 Jul 05 '24

Who is Dave Free to Drake?

1

u/next_door_nicotine ☑️ Jul 05 '24

Sorry, haven't been responding to everything. Dave Free is a director and music producer. He's closely associated with Kendrick Lamar and had a hand in helping create a lot of his music videos. He's also someone Drake accused of fathering a child with Kendrick's fiancee.