Punch Reveals Why Kendrick Lamar Decided to Not Include ‘Not Like Us’ on ‘GNX’

February 5, 2025 E Jazz Reporter

Entertainment

The diss song directed at Drake won five Grammys.

Kendrick Lamar poses with the Record Of The Year, Best Rap Performance, Song Of The Year, Best Music Video, Best Rap Song at The 67th Annual Grammy Awards, on Feb. 2, 2025 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.

Phil McCarten/CBS

When Kendrick Lamar dropped his surprise album GNX, fans wondered why he decided to leave “Not Like Us” off the project. Now, we finally know the reason why, at least according to a TDE executive.

Terrence “Punch” Henderson was recently asked by a fan on X why the Compton rapper “didn’t include the mega smash on the album.”

“Integrity,” he replied. “That record was for the battle. The album was a separate thing. Could have put it on there to boost overall sales but chose to leave it for what it was. Integrity.”

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Another fan then asked if Lamar was working on his sixth album before his battle with Drake kicked off. However, Punch decided to leave that question alone, answering, “That’s all I got, champ. He can speak on that if he ever choose too.”

Billboard has reached out to Kendrick’s camp for comment.

Maybe we’ll get an answer to whether or not he was already planning GNX prior to their back and forth this upcoming Thursday (Feb. 6) when he sits down with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden and Nadeska Alexis for an interview during the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show press conference.

Fans are also wondering if Kendrick will perform “Not Like Us” — which took home a whopping five Grammy Awards at Sunday’s (Feb. 2) ceremony — during his set at the Super Bowl this coming Sunday (Feb. 9), and whether Toronto rapper’s ongoing lawsuit will hinder him from doing so. Billboard recently spoke with legal experts who agreed the lawsuit shouldn’t stop him, but he may have to edit some lyrics or decide to avoid the song all together just to be safe.

As for Drake, he’s currently on tour in Australia and opened up his first show wearing a black hoodie with bullet holes in it and a trail of gun smoke. He posted a carousel on Instagram showing how the hoodie was made and included the caption: “They thought einstein was lying & shakespeare was barely rhyming & edison wasn’t lit despite what he was designing. So how can I give af what they say about my stars aligning.”

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