DJ Mustard, like most Kendrick Lamar fans, was in disbelief when he first heard the rapper’s “Not Like Us” — even though he provided the song’s catchy beat. The L.A.
-based producer unveiled his role in Lamar’s diss anthem, revealing to Billboard in a video interview published this week, “I heard the song when everyone else heard it.” “I never heard it before, I wasn’t in the studio with him,” he told the outlet. In May, Lamar dropped “Not Like Us” amid his public feud with Drake .
Over Mustard’s bouncy beat, Lamar takes shots at the “God’s Plan” rapper with lines accusing him of child sexual abuse and disrespecting hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur. The song, the fifth diss track Lamar has dropped since March, became a near-instant hit. It quickly went viral on social media and landed on dance club playlists .
Mustard said he wanted to “get a song with Kendrick” and had sent “him five beats a day,” uncertain how he would use them. The producer, whose collaborators also include YG and Wiz Khalifa, said he only heard back from the Pulitzer Prize winner late one night. Mustard (real name Dijon Isaiah McFarlane) recalled Lamar’s response: “ ‘This is fire.
’ ” The Grammy-nominated DJ told Billboard that Dr. Dre and Lil Jon inspired the final snippet. “It took me approximately 30 minutes to make” the “Not Like Us” beat, he said.
“I didn’t know [Lamar] was gonna gas that beat like that,” he added. “Not Like Us” has been .
