Dennis Graham has commented on Kendrick Lamar‘s recent Grammy wins for ‘Not Like Us’ – the diss track aimed at his son, Drake.
‘Not Like Us’ was originally released last May during Drake and Lamar’s infamous rap battle, in which the latter accused his peer of being “a certified paedophile”. Drake has denied any wrongdoing. The song is widely considered the most successful of the feud, becoming Lamar’s fourth Number One single and smashing numerous streaming records.
Last night (February 2), the Compton rapper became the third most decorated rapper in Grammys history, winning five awards for ‘Not Like Us’: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video. Check out the full list of winners here.
The awards were held at the Crypto Arena in Lamar’s home state of California. Drake was notably absent – mostly spending the evening in Australia ahead of his ‘Anitta Max Wynn’ tour – but his father was in attendance. While walking out of the arena, he was asked what did he think about ‘Not Like Us’ winning Record of the Year – to which he replied: “I don’t care enough about that shit. That ain’t got nothing to do with me. All the best to him. I don’t do that bullshit.”
Drake hasn’t commented on Lamar’s big night at the 2025 Grammys at the time of writing.
‘Not Like Us’ has become the most coveted song in Grammys history, earning the most awards for one song in one ceremony. Lamar is also the second-ever rapper to win Record and Song of the Year with the same song – Childish Gambino was first in 2019.
Since its release, the club-friendly diss track has been the centre of Drake’s ongoing legal battles with Universal Music Group (UMG). Both rappers are signed to the label, however, the Canadian rap juggernaut initially sued the company for “artificially inflating” the streams for ‘Not Like Us’ as well as releasing and promoting “defamatory” claims against him back in November.
Last month, Drake dropped the stream inflation case and filed another suit against UMG for defamation – calling the release and promotion of ‘Not Like Us’ an example of “corporate greed over the safety and wellbeing of its artists”. Drake did not sue Lamar in any of the three reported lawsuits.
UMG responded to Drake’s “illogical” claim, saying in a statement: “Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings about other artists. He now seeks to weaponise the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.”
Lamar is yet to respond to any of Drake’s legal disputes over ‘Not Like Us’.
Longtime Drake critic Joe Budden commented on the ‘Not Like Us’ lawsuits, suggesting all the “adversity” he was facing was due to him being “a selfish, lying, manipulative sack of shit who has made enemies for 15 years, and [is now] at the fucking boiling point.” Dennis came to his son’s defence on instagram, commenting beneath a clip: “Stand down now!!!!!! Joe needs to back the fuck off. This has nothing to do with him, period.”
Soulja Boy has also been vocal about the lawsuits, calling for Drake to “stay in Canada”. He added: “Y’all hoes. Y’all the type of people that lose a rap battle and sue a n***a … I’m a real gangster, bro. I could never sue a n***a.”
Recently, Dr. Dre chimed in on why he supported Lamar in his feud with Drake, saying that when he “heard Drake say something negative about Kendrick’s wife and his kids, that made me say, ‘Ah, adios!’”
Later this week, Lamar will headline the NFL Super Bowl Halftime Show for the first time ever in New Orleans, Louisiana. The news initially caused a stir in the hip-hop community because many believed Lil Wayne should have been given the honour. Lamar reacted to the backlash on his sixth album ‘Gnx’ and Wayne responded, causing the rappers to feel blighted by one another. However, the two have sorted out their differences.
In other news, the ‘Anitta Max Wynn’ Austarlian and New Zealand tour will start this Sunday (February 9) in Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena – the same day at Lamar’s Super Bowl headline show. You can find any available tickets here.