Did Not Like Us Deserve its Emphatic Showing at The Grammys?

‍

In a year teeming with pivotal cultural moments—Charlie XCX’s Brat campaign, the renaissance of sanguine pop heralded by Sabrina Carpenter and Chapelle Roan’s delightfully subversive spin on Pop—the feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake stood out emphatically for its sheer scale and cultural impact. The feud started unremarkably—for all the commotion it kindled, it wouldn’t be the first time two Hip-Hop stalwarts would be clashing, at most it appeared to be a new iteration of a familiar tale. But before long the story would swivel in a different, more grave direction. Kendrick, in a display of tactical superiority, transformed the feud from an ego-driven display of machismo to a battle for the soul of Hip Hop, calling into question Drake’s blackness and casting him as an interloper within black culture. With a single brush stroke, Drake’s lot was sealed. As if to celebrate his ascendancy over Drake and the dawning of a new era forged according to his whims and philosophies, he released Not Like Us, a song as playful as it is didactic. Against the backdrop of punchy loops and a jaunty West Coast bounce, Kendrick at once pokes at existential questions about the notion of blackness and wickedly taunts Drake.

His gambits with Not Like Us have since vaulted him to surreal heights: multiple Billboard records, a culture-rallying moment in the form of a homecoming concert, he’s also billed to headline this year’s installment of the Super Bowl halftime show. Last night he extended his incredible win streak as he carted away five Grammy awards for Not Like Us, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap Performance, cementing the record as the greatest diss track of a time and imbuing his already incredible run with even more momentum. Despite the pervasive celebratory air at the Grammy venue as Kendrick picked up award after award—at one point the entire hall giddily echoed his “A minor” line—online reactions have traversed the entire spectrum; from support to cynicism to outright disbelief. At the heart of this plurality of opinions is the question of whether Kendrick’s Not Like Us deserved such a resounding win. Yes, it was unarguably the song of the summer. And yes it earned incredible commercial acclaim. But isn’t the Grammy's mission to reward artistic excellence as opposed to commercial success? Tucked among the array of critiques also the aspersion that Kendrick, at this point, wins awards just off the strength of his name, a volley Drake hilariously deployed in one of his diss tracks: “Kendrick just opened his mouth, somebody give him a Grammy right now.”

So, is Not Like Us’ powerful Grammy showing well-deserved or overrated? Well, as with many other things in life, the answer is a bit convoluted. The first thing to realize, however, is that the seeming disparity between commercial acclaim and artistic brilliance is farcical; some of the best-constructed songs are club staples, just like some of the most hallowed art pieces are ubiquitous in popular culture. The second thing to take into account is that the notion of quality, at least as pertains to the Grammys, is largely context-specific. Each category has its unique criteria for artistic excellence. For example, while the best rap performance category prizes delivery, the Song of the Year award hones in on songwriting chops. Finally, Grammy winners are decided by a vast sweep of critics—13,000 of them. 

Taking these points together it becomes apparent that Kendrick deserved all five awards. His Best Music Video win was perhaps the least controversial and contested. While A$AP could make a claim for the video to Taylor Swif—a surreal social commentary where the snouts of dolphins jut of out puddles and ponies bizarrely flop around on couches—Not Like Us edges it out on account of serving as both a poignant piece of social commentary and a culture rallying moment. His Record of the Year win is pretty straightforward. The award has historically been awarded to the most culture-defining record. Did any other song bear down on and shape the culture last year as assertively as Not Like Us did? 

His win for Best Rap Song is similarly straightforward. Considering the other nominees—Carnival, Like That, Asteroids, and Yeah Glo!—it was fated to win, on account of its resounding cultural relevance and Kendrick’s sublime delivery. This directly leads to his Best Rap Performance win, which in light of his Best Rap Song win, makes total sense. His performance on Not Like Us is nothing short of masterful. He contorts his voice skillfully, vacillating between lithe intonation and forceful elocution as he delivers an operatic performance. 

This leaves his Song of the Year win, his most controversial win, which is somewhat justified given that Not Like Us departs from the stately demeanor of previous winners—for context Taylor Swift’s Cardigan and Billie Eilish’s What I Was Made For, which won last year. But before you wag fingers in an expression of outrage, you have to first consider what the award’s criteria are. It turns out that the main criterion for the award is songwriting excellence. Let’s now curtly explore Kendrick’s songwriting gambits on Not Like Us. In the record, which runs for a just bit over four minutes—he weaves a compelling and cohesive narrative that at once hammers the final nail in the coffin of his feud with Drake and functions as a poignant treatise on blackness and race dynamics in America, all the while being synthesizing the best elements of Pop and Hip-Hop into a brilliant whole. In an age where public interest and trust in award shows are increasingly on the decline, it’s easy to fall into the trap of gratuitously faulting their choices. Criticism, especially in the arts is a valid enterprise, but before you do so, pause and consider the various moving parts that add up to crowning a winner. 

‍