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Kendrick Lamar purposely left "Not Like Us" off his recent album for a good reason.
On Monday night, February 3, Top Dawg Entertainment's Terrance "Punch" Henderson decided to answer some questions from fans on X, formerly known as Twitter. One person asked why Lamar did not include his diss track for Drake on his latest album GNX. According to Punch, K.Dot opted out of adding the song to his album's tracklist due to "integrity."
"That record was for the battle," he wrote. "The album was a separate thing. Could have put it on there to boost overall sales but chose to leave it for what it was. Integrity."
Kendrick Lamar dropped "Not Like Us" last year during the peak of his beef with Drake. The catchy tune became an instant sensation online and on the airwaves. The hype around the song continued after Lamar shared the official music video and performed the track several times at "The Pop Out" on Juneteenth in Los Angeles. Although fans already knew an album was in the works, "Not Like Us" was noticeably missing when Lamar dropped his sixth studio album GNX without warning last November.
Lamar's decision to keep "Not Like Us" off his album didn't affect the track's overall success. It recently became the most-awarded rap song in Grammy history. During the 2025 Grammys, K.Dot took home five trophies including Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, and Best Music Video. Now fans hope Lamar will perform the song during his set at the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show this Sunday.
