In the heat of their battle this summer, Drake sarcastically rapped, “Kendrick just opened his mouth, someone go hand him a Grammy right now” on the track “Family Matters.” Well, the Recording Academy decided to actually put Kendrick in the running for five Grammys for his magnum opus of a response, “Not Like Us.” The song is nominated for both Record and Song of the Year, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, and Best Music Video. Additionally, Mustard, the record’s producer and an architect of modern Los Angeles hip-hop, earned a nomination for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, largely because of it. Drake, who has amassed a whopping 55 Grammy nominations and five wins, has had major beef with the Recording Academy, too, taking jabs at them as he accepted an award in 2019, withdrawing his nominations in 2021, and declining to submit his work for consideration since.
In June, when TMZ asked Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. if “Not Like Us” stood a chance at the Grammys, he relayed that that decision was left to the members, but indicated it was one that would make sense. “It’s amazing artistry, great writing,” he said. “Kendrick obviously has been successful with the organization, so I don’t see any reason why it couldn’t be.” He wasn’t particularly jarred by the content of the song, whose biggest bars accused Drake of pursuing minors. “I think the voting members of the academy appreciate greatness,” he reasoned. “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.”
“Not Like Us” was, of course, one of the year’s most anthemic songs and marked a major cultural shift in Drake’s standing, turning a nearly unflappable hitmaker into a punchline. Plus, disses snagging Grammy nominations is not exactly new. Billboard pointed out that Drake earned a Best Rap Performance nomination for destroying Meek Mill on “Back to Back.” Way back in 1992, LL Cool J’s formative Kool Moe Dee diss “Mama Said Knock You Out” scored him a statue too. Yet, neither of those songs were the peak of an ugly rap war in which women and girls became collateral damage as potentially libelous accusations of sexual and domestic violence were lobbed plain as day. In that way, the “Not Like Us” nominations, especially in two top categories, are as jarring as they are deserved.
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