Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss track ‘Not Like Us’ is eligible for Grammys, says CEO

25 June, 2024

Kendrick Lamar and Drake

Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss track ‘Not Like Us’ is eligible for a Grammy nomination, says Recording Academy CEO.

READ MORE: Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s feud: the full timeline

The Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr. opened up about his thoughts on the hugely successful song in a recent statement and explained that while it isn’t common for a diss track to be nominated for a Grammy, in this case, it is a possibility.

He discussed the idea while at LAX airport on Monday (June 24), and was approached by TMZ Hip Hop for a comment.

The track was originally shared by Lamar earlier this year, as the heavily publicised feud between him and fellow rapper Drake came to a head. It marked his third Drake diss to be shared within 36 hours, and saw him blast the Canadian artist for his supposed preference for younger women – even to the point where he calls him a “certified paedophile”.

Following the release, it topped the US singles chart and became K.Dot’s fourth Number One song – following on from his feature on Future and Metro Boomin’s ‘Like That’ earlier this year, 2017’s ‘Humble’, and his verse on Taylor Swift’s 2015 track ‘Bad Blood’.

It broke various records too, with Brooklyn Eagle reporting that the track has become the hip-hop song that has been streamed the most times in a day on Spotify – racking up 6.8million plays.

Now, the Recording Academy’s CEO has said that the track is up for Grammy consideration as it checks all the boxes that the team are looking for.

According to the outlet, Mason Jr. said that while the decision will come down to the team, the decision does look likely given Lamar’s huge success with the awards in the past – having already won 17 trophies.

“A separate diss track category isn’t out of the question, either,” wrote TMZ, recalling what the music mogul told them at LAX. “It’s been a heavy year for beef, and HMJ acknowledges there have been some good ones released lately.”

‘Not Like Us’ wasn’t the only one of the rapper’s diss tracks to prove to be a hit with fans. Another one of his scathing tracks against Drake, ‘Euphoria’, also went on to do well on the charts and reached the Number Three spot after debuting at Number 11.

The beef between the two came to a head in April, when Lamar contributed a verse to Future and Metro Boomin’s ‘Like That’, and used the collab to respond to J. Cole, who previously claimed “Love when they argue the hardest MC/ Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?/ We the big three like we started a league” on Drake’s track ‘First Person Shooter’.

Lamar told Cole and Drake on his ‘Like That’ verse: “Motherfuck the big three, n****, it’s just big me”. Cole later responded with his own diss, ‘7 Minute Drill’, but he later apologised for it and pulled it from streaming.

However, Drake fired back with two tracks ‘Push Ups’ and ‘Taylor Made Freestyle‘. The Canadian rapper then landed in hot water after he used AI to emulate Tupac Shakur‘s vocals, leading to the late rapper’s estate threatening legal action. He subsequently removed the track from streaming.