The Game & D Smoke Praise Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” For Elevating L.A. Gang Culture

West Coast rappers D Smoke and The Game recently crowned Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” with a prestigious honor after ranking the song as one of the top anthems to permeate from L.A.

During a recent interview with Rocsi Diaz the pair of rappers delved into the significance of Lamar’s incendiary Drake diss while building a comprehensive list ranking the best West Coast hits. In doing so, they ended up highlighting the cultural impact of “Not Like Us” on Hip-Hop and the representation of L.A. gang culture. The track’s deeper message and Lamar’s unique storytelling style made it a focal point of their discussion as D Smoke began the conversation by addressing Kendrick’s unique position in West Coast Hip-Hop.

“Kendrick has such a special place in the West because everything that gang culture established for the West, Kendrick, on one hand, continues the camaraderie element of gang culture, but he elevates it to this intellectual, loving, Malcolm-Martin kind of perspective,” D Smoke proclaimed.

The Game echoed these sentiments, emphasizing Lamar’s ability to articulate the complexity of gang culture to a broader audience.

“I think Kendrick does the best job possible at explaining who we are, what we are,” The Game said. “Even though we have this stigma on us as a culture, he does an amazing job at explaining to the world how and why they should understand why we are the way that we are.”

As the conversation then turned to Lamar’s broader achievements, particularly his upcoming Super Bowl performance, D Smoke added that Kendrick’s artistry goes beyond just rap.

“He’s not just one of the best rappers ever,” D Smoke said. “He’s one of the best artists ever. If you look at the intent behind his projects, the musicality, it’s not something you can do independent of the artist. If the artist doesn’t have that vision, the product won’t be what it is.”

In the end, D Smoke and The Game listed Lamar’s anthemic record within the top five of the list of all-time West Coast bangers — situating the song at the number four spot. Believe it or not, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre held three of the other slots within the Top 6 and Nipsey Hussle’s Victory Lap hit, “Last Time That I Checc’d,” landed just outside of it at the No. 6 slot.