Kendrick Lamar‘s summer hit “Not Like Us” is now becoming a regular feature at HBCU bands. As schools across the U.S. gear up to welcome students for the 2024-25 school year, several marching bands have been performing Lamar’s diss track at their shows.
One video posted to X (formerly known as Twitter) on Sunday showed Florida A&M University’s Marching 100 band performing “Not Like Us” at the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Atlanta as part of their Field Show.
Florida A&M University’s Band (Marching 100) played a snippet of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” during their Field Show at the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge. pic.twitter.com/Dp0IIj5iZI
— Kendrick Lamar Updates (@KendrickChart) August 25, 2024
Alcorn State University‘s Sounds of Dyn-O-Mite and the Golden Girls also performed the chart-topper at their 2024 Show Reveal.
Alcorn State University’s Marching Band, Sounds of Dyn-O-Mite & Golden Girls performed Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” during their 2024 Show Reveal. pic.twitter.com/CBzu6sYP9g
— Kendrick Lamar Updates (@KendrickChart) August 25, 2024
“Not Like Us” was also heard at the National Battle of the Bands 2024 when Southern University’s Human Jukebox band, performed the song, Vibe reported.
Southern University Human Jukebox performed Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” at “National Battle of the Bands 2024”
via YouTube: Human Jukebox Mediapic.twitter.com/xirtvqlNpN
— Kendrick Lamar Updates (@KendrickChart) August 25, 2024
Additionally, the Alabama State Mighty Marching Hornets performed the song during an Atlanta Braves game, according to Clutch Points.
Joe Budden seems to have sparked the idea: “You better thank your ******** heavens up above that it isn’t HBCU season! You better thank God,” he said on his podcast.
After skyrocketing to No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart earlier this summer, “Not Like Us” now sits at No. 3. Over the weekend, it surpassed 700 million Spotify streams, becoming the fastest track to celebrate such a feat on the streaming platform, according to Hot New Hip Hop.
“Not Like Us” has become a cultural phenomenon since its May 4 release. The song is a diss track aimed at Canadian rapper Drake. Directed by both Dave Free and Lamar himself, the music video is filled with Easter eggs and has received over 116 million views on YouTube so far.
