Michael Eric Dyson's Take On "Not Like Us" Sparks Reactions
Huh? : Michael Eric Dyson Compares Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” To Donald Trump’s Immigration Policies
- Dyson claims the track 'de-Blacks' Drake and reduces Blackness to Compton.
- The hip-hop community rejects Dyson's analysis, calling it ignorant and mistaken.
- Punch and Glasses Malone criticize Dyson for speaking 'ignorantly' about the song.
Michael Eric Dyson isn’t known for saying absolutely ridiculous things, but his opinion on Kendrick Lamar’s scathing, infectious diss track, “Not Like Us,” has everyone looking at him with a side eye.
It’s been two years since Kendrick Lamar dropped the atomic bomb that was “Not Like Us,” pretty much ending any talk of besting him in a Hip-Hop battle, and Dyson has thoughts on it still.
Dyson touched on the chart-topping diss track and beef between K.Dot and Drizzy during an appearance on the podcast Mohr Stories, and shockingly, he is calling out the West Coast rapper for trying to revoke the OVO general’s Black card.
Michael Eric Dyson Says “Not Like Us” Is Similar To Trump’s Immigration Policies
In what is easily one of the most heada** moments we have ever seen Dyson be a part of, the author and scholar compared “Not Like Us” to Donald Trump’s highly divisive immigration policies that are currently terrorizing Black and Brown people in the country.
“Most people would acknowledge Kendrick as genius, but not Drake, right?” he continued. “‘Drake is commercially viable. He’s a monster. He sells records. But is he as deep?’
Dyson then spoke about his experience watching Lamar perform the record during his Apple Music Super Bowl LIX halftime show performance, and explained why the song is similar to Trump’s policies.
“Drake is being indicted by Kendrick Lamar implicitly and explicitly. ‘Not Like Us,’ is a perfect anthem for the present president,” Dyson said.
“‘You are not like us. You are Somalian. You are Ethiopian, you are Eritrean, you are Mexican, you are whatever, fill in the blank, you are Haitian,‘” Dyson said. “And so to me, that very theme, forget the song, the song is the song, whatever you think about it. But the notion itself is a man distinction, a big distinction, us versus them. And they’re trying to de-Black Drake.
Dyson then claimed that Lamar was “reducing Blackness to Compton,” explaining the Black Canadians “fled America” so they could “escape the iron tyranny of enslavement.”
“His daddy is Black. He went to Memphis every summer. The Memphis horns fill his music, the first albums Drake made. His grandmama babysat Aretha Franklin. and his uncle is Larry Graham from Sly the Family Stone,” Dyson continued. “What Black card he got to show?”
Bruh.
TDE’s Punch, Glasses Malone & More Do Not Agree With Agree Dyson
Social media is not rocking with Dyson’s breakdown of the beef, and feels he’s doing too damn much breaking down Lamar’s record to white folk.
TDE general Punch also chimed in on X (formerly Twitter), insinuating that Dyson is in his feelings because the song “touched him personally.”
Hip-Hop star Glasses Malone also wasn’t feeling Dyson’s breakdown writing on his social media account, “Mr. Eric Michael Dyson is sadly mistaken… a scholar speaking “ignorantly” is INSANE.”
Welp.
You can see more reactions below.
