Among the glut of diss tracks lobbed between Kendrick Lamar and Drake earlier this year, one reigned truly victorious: Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” which swiftly became an inescapable summer smash after it dropped in May. Since its release, the anthem has gone from a scathing shakedown to a hip-hop rallying cry, earning Lamar his first-ever No. 1 solo single on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Hot Rap Songs tally for 14 weeks.
But just as swiftly as “Not Like Us” emerged as a commercial juggernaut came questions about its viability as a 2025 Grammy Awards contender: Could a diss record with accusations of pedophilia compete with less-pointed potential candidates? “I think the voting members of the academy appreciate greatness,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told TMZ a month after the release of “Not Like Us.” “They appreciate what’s hot, what’s going on. That’s a relevant record that’s impacting on so many levels. So much creativity and talent. I like to believe that the Academy members recognize that and vote appropriately.”
Lamar is no stranger to the Grammys — he’s won 17 awards throughout his career — but “Not Like Us” has revived conversations about the institution’s contentious relationship with hip-hop over the years and, more specifically, its consideration of diss tracks as an art form worth acknowledging.
“When you think of a diss song, you think of a negative song, and Grammys like to celebrate positivity and greatness,” explains Sean Momberger, who co-produced “Not Like Us” with Mustard and Sounwave. “But I think that’s why this song is going to be different, because it has such a positive feel to it and it’s such a celebratory song. It started as a diss song, but after the first few weeks, it kind of departed from the rap feud. Now it’s just part of everyday life.”
Indeed, the Recording Academy hasn’t been entirely averse to honoring diss tracks in the past. Ironically, the last explicit one to get a Grammy nod was by Drake: “Back to Back,” a Meek Mill swipe that was included in 2016’s best rap performance category. But nominations for testy tunes have been relatively few and far between — and largely subliminal at that, with tracks like LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out” and Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River” (which is not a hip-hop song) receiving recognition. One might consider some of Taylor Swift’s nominated tracks like “Bad Blood” and “Mean” to be disses, but even that may be a stretch.
Whatever the case, the indisputable success and cultural relevance of “Not Like Us” will be impossible to ignore in the voting process — assuming, of course, that the song is officially submitted for an award by Lamar’s team. He has been nominated for some 50 Grammys over the years, but has predominately won in the rap categories and been entirely shut out of his “big four” nominations (album, song and record of the year, and best new artist). It wouldn’t be presumptuous to assume that “Not Like Us” will reign in the genre-specific categories, but vying for top wins in the general fields may prove more difficult based on a year of competitive releases.
“In the whole field, I don’t want to say it’s a long shot,” adds Momberger. “It was a huge moment and song, but we’ll see. I know Billie Eilish and other artists dropped really good songs, too. But I think it’s a huge win for hip-hop because of how hip-hop is: The song drops out of the sky with no rollout. Hip-hop’s the coolest, most progressive genre, and this shows that there’s no formula or recipe for hit songs.
“If it connects with the audience, then that’s what matters and that’s what the Grammys look at — cultural impact,” he concludes. Here’s hoping he’s right.
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