Dr. Dre Breaks Silence on Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ and His Support During the Drake Feud
For the first time, Dr. Dre has publicly spoken about Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’, the viral diss track that became the defining moment of Lamar’s beef with Drake. The song, which has since earned Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, solidified Kendrick’s dominance in the highly publicized feud.
The rap battle reached its peak in June 2024, when Kendrick hosted ‘The Pop Out’ concert in Los Angeles—a one-night-only event filled with surprise guests and electrifying performances. During the show, Lamar performed nearly every track he released during his back-and-forth with Drake. To close the night, Dr. Dre made a legendary entrance, delivering snippets of Still D.R.E and California Love before introducing Not Like Us with the now-iconic whisper:
“Pssst, I see dead people.”
Kendrick then performed the song five times in a row, further cementing its impact.
Dr. Dre, who has been a mentor to Kendrick since signing him to Aftermath and Interscope in 2011, finally addressed his involvement in the feud during the debut episode of The Unusual Suspects podcast with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell.
Although Dre typically avoids rap beefs, he made an exception when Drake started targeting Kendrick’s family.
“I love that record. I’ma say this on camera. I don’t want to get negative. My whole shit is about being positive and moving forward and all that shit, but the fact I heard Drake say something negative about Kendrick’s wife and his kids, that made me say, ‘Ah, adios!’”
Dr. Dre’s words confirm that while he prefers to stay neutral, his loyalty to Kendrick Lamar remains strong. With Not Like Us now in Grammy contention, its cultural impact continues to grow, proving that Kendrick’s response to the feud was more than just a diss track—it was a moment of hip-hop history.