Kamala Harris references Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef in BET Awards appearance
US Vice President Kamala Harris referenced Kendrick Lamar’s bombshell diss track “Not Like Us” in a pre-recorded campaign video played last night at the BET Awards.
In the video, Harris is in conversation with the show’s host, Taraji P Henson, when she quotes the song that was released at the peak of Lamar’s ongoing feud with “Hotline Bling” artist Drake.
“The majority of us believe in freedom and equality, but these extremists, as they say, they not like us,” said Harris, before glancing at the camera.
The quote “they not like us”, is a reference to Lamar’s hit song, which was the final song in a string of releases between the two rappers.
The commercial success of “Not Like Us” has seen rap fans unofficially crown Lamar the winner of the ongoing rivalry between the pair, with the song shooting to number one on the Billboard Top 100.
After the nod to Lamar’s song, Harris took a more serious tone before before addressing the forthcoming election, saying that “there is a full out attack on our fundamental freedoms, the freedom to vote.
Vice President Kamala Harris for the #BETAwards: "The majority of us believe in freedom and equality, but these extremists, as they say, they not like us." pic.twitter.com/wE0hDB3XId
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 1, 2024
“The freedom to love who you love. The freedom to be safe from gun violence.
“The freedom for a woman to make decisions about her own body, not having her government telling her what to do,” she told the camera.
After Harris’ conversation with Henson, The Color Purple star proceeded delivered her own parody of Lamar’s hit.
Taraji P. Henson opens the #BETAwards by parodying “Not Like Us” pic.twitter.com/XUA8Oep5US
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 1, 2024
Henson called for unity at the BET awards, rapping, “This about us, this about us” instead of Lamar’s original lyrics, “They not like us”.
“DRAKE TURN THE TV OFF” wrote one user about the parody on X/Twitter. “Drake can’t even watch the BET Awards in peace,” added another.
Back in May, Drake and Lamar went back and forth, hurling allegations at each other over a sucession of songs. Drake’s bombshells ranged from accusing Lamar of domestically abusing his wife, to Lamar’s children actually being his manager’s, Dave Free.
Lamar’s accusations alluded to Drake’s behaviour towards young women as he branded him a “certified paedophile” and compared him to Harvey Weinstein, whilst also alleging that Drake was hiding a secret daughter.
Drake vehemently denied all the allegations as he declared he had fed Lamar false information for his diss records.
