Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us

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Full black void. No readable detail.

Here, another black void frame. No readable detail yet.

Now black and white. A silhouette from behind on the right. Cap and bulky jacket. Long dark hallway. One hanging bulb deep in the corridor. Floor with a slight sheen. Face detail stays hedged.

The frame finds close on brushed metal. Horizontal recessed flush handle. A dark skinned hand reaches from the bottom right in motion.

Here, a face through a horizontal metal slot. White face paint. Red nose tip. Orange and black six and nine on the sides. Rainbow hair at the edges. Vertical black line between the brows. Eyes to camera.

Now a bright white room with foggy panels. Rainbow afro clown wig. White and black face paint with a red nose and mouth. Black and white vertical stripe long sleeve. Plywood DJ table on a two by two grey cinder block stack. Black turntable. Two white studio monitors. Grey floor. And the line sits once — “Ayy, Mustard on the beat, ho”

A beat later, top down on a silver turntable on light wood. White slipmat. Black and white striped sleeve. Black glove finger on a square button at the top right of the deck.

Grey paneled studio. Central Black woman dancer with arms out. White crop with NOT LIKE US in blue and red graffiti text. Black pants with the same text down the leg. Face paint at the eye. Five seated behind on grey folding chairs in branded tees and jackets. Face paint. Black and white high tops.

Now seated group. Center bearded Kendrick in a white zip jacket. Blue and white patterned cap with a scarf showing FINE letters. Left pink red hair with face paint heart. White tank. Gold chain. Right cornrows. Gold hoops. Face paint and NOT on the cheek. White NOT LIKE US tee.

From here, Kendrick seated looking up right. White zip hoodie. Patterned blue white black cap. Women around with face paint and gold hoops and white graphic tees. Soft grey studio wall.

Meanwhile, high angle. Foreground seated group on grey chairs in NOT LIKE US tops and black jackets and face paint and black high tops. One empty chair. Mid ground Kendrick in a white tracksuit and blue cap. Fist up. Motion ghost silhouettes. Hazy grid fog back wall. Grey floor. And the line sits once — “What’s up with these jabroni-ass niggas tryna see Compton?”

Under that hold the lyric is blunt: “Psst, I see dead people”

Now black and white night fog. Kendrick center facing camera. Dark zip jacket with light piping on the shoulders and sleeves. Light pants into chunky dark boots. Hands clasped in front. Two bright circular lights right rear. Soft silhouettes mid. Wet looking ground.

The frame finds the black and white fog language continues. Soft detail stays hedged.

A bright sparse room. Wood floor. Kendrick in a white long sleeve and grey sweats. Push up plank between cinder block stacks over a low daybed. Or seated on the daybed pointing a finger up with a white sleep mask on the forehead. Large wood speaker cabinet. Black monitors. Blank wood canvas frame leans on the wall.

Now the same austere room. White sweatshirt set. Speakers and canvas and blocks stay readable. Across the cut, the same room language holds. Soft frames stay hedged.

Here, solid bright blue void. Kendrick on the right edge in a white tee. Sequin or reflective pants. Plaid boxers above the waist. Fist cocked toward a hanging owl piñata. Brown tan cream fringe. Big white eyes. Yellow beak. Bottom text in red DISCLAIMER. White line NO OVHOES WERE HARMED DURING THE MAKING OF THIS VIDEO. And the line sits once — “Sometimes you gotta pop out and show niggas”

Now the blue void and piñata sequence continues. Mid strike blur stays hedged. The frame finds the same blue set language. On screen disclaimer may hold or cut.

In this beat, daytime street. Matte black Ferrari like sports car. Red interior. Ferrari horse on the fender. Yellow wheel caps. Kendrick in a dark cap at the wheel. Passenger beside. White corner store behind. DND MART and LIQUOR in red letters. PRIVATE PROPERTY NO LOITERING. Address 290 W. Wheel motion blur.

Now the car and street continue. Soft detail stays hedged.

Next: fast food interior. Tam’s Burgers logos and cups. Kendrick foreground shrug with palms up. White cap. Blue white black Martine Rose colorblock track jacket. Name on the chest. Small five slash eight two zero two four text. Light jeans. Mid ground a man in a red zip and blue Blue Jays cap eating at a booth with a Tam’s cup. Woman left mid dance in denim sleeveless and baggy distressed denim. Tile wall. Glass STEAK QUESADILLA and CHEESE FRIES. EXIT and accessibility signs. Fluorescent ceiling.

Across town, the Tam’s interior dance continues. Soft faces stay hedged.

Now through an open car window. Kendrick in the passenger seat grinning. Blue black jacket with white shoulder detail. White cap with black brim. Stud earring. Driver laughing in a clay red zip and black hat. Matte black car. Red interior. Motion blur green trees outside.

The track answers without a subtitle: “The industry can hate me, fuck ’em all and they mama”

The frame finds the car joyride language continues in daylight blur. And the line sits once — “They not like us, they not like us, they not like us”

Meanwhile, cut toward industrial containers. Soft hold if needed.

Now white shipping container yard. Dirt and gravel. Kendrick mid dance in a black long sleeve over a long white tee and black pants. Second man left leans on a container door in a black jacket white tee and white sneakers. Container IDs readable. CBIU two zero two two three five. SEGU numbers. Forty five R one.

Right after, the container yard dance continues. White reefers. Grey ground. Over here, the same industrial yard language holds.

Now Kendrick in a grey suit jacket and white button down and grey trousers and black dress shoes and black rim glasses. Right arm up with index finger. Left arm out. Right knee up mid step. White containers with a food storage red border label. SEGU numbers. Weight text. Seaco SRL Bridgetown. Yellow warning triangles. Dusty gravel and litter bits.

Watch — the suit dance at the containers continues. Here, same yard. Suit or soft wardrobe hedge.

Now a dense outdoor crowd packed edge to edge. Hands up. Phones aloft. Many LA Dodgers caps. Streetwear. Bright daylight. Sea of faces. Individuals stay hedged. And the line sits once — “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor”

Elsewhere, crowd density continues in daylight.

Three men outdoor chat. Left black New Era cap. White PURPLE graphic tee. Silver watch. Arms crossed. Mid black cap backward. Sage zip hoodie. Laughing. Right red TDE letter cap. Red tee. Beard. Smiling. Light blue cloth in hands. Pale yellow building soft. Vehicles at the edges.

Now studio haze. Kendrick center in an all white zip hoodie and wide white pants. Blue cap over a blue and white bandana. Dancers around in motion blur with white and black eye face paint. White NOT LIKE US graphic tanks and tees. Black jackets. Black branded pants.

The frame finds the dance crew in the white out haze continues. Here, same branded dancers and Kendrick white set language. Now studio dance hold. Soft frames stay hedged. From here, haze studio choreography continues.

You can hear it sitting on the cut: “Deebo any rap nigga, he a free throw”

Black and white interior. Herringbone or chevron wallpaper. Gallery framed photos soft. Kendrick left in a dark zip hoodie and dark cap with the brim low. Eyes shadowed. Woman right with short dark curls. White ribbed crop under an open light hoodie. Thick silver Cuban chain. Hoops. Nose ring. Child head at bottom center. Dark hair. Large white bow. Soft photo contents stay hedged.

Now the family interior in black and white continues. Soft detail stays hedged. From here, the same domestic black and white language holds.

In this beat, outdoor day plaza. Kendrick mid dance in a black leather jacket black shirt grey cargos chunky black boots and black cap. Crowd of about twenty to thirty dancing and cheering. Red graphic tee left. Woman in white crop and denim shorts. Dodgers jersey. Palm trees. White modern building. Tan structure with block letters ELE and HE. Blue and white motorcycle left. Hard sun shadows. Clear blue sky.

Now outdoor crowd dance continues. Palms and school like letters hold. The frame finds the same plaza energy. Soft faces stay hedged. Crowd and dance hold in daylight.

Now high angle. Two rows of grey folding chairs. About ten seated in NOT LIKE US white tops and black jackets and white eye paint. Facing away and right. Background Kendrick in a white sweatshirt and pants and sneakers with a dark blue cap. Mid dance with left and right motion ghost echoes. Tall semi transparent grid partitions in heavy grey fog. Light grey floor.

From here, dark low key. Sharp barn owl back and side in the foreground. Cream white mottled feathers. Soft focus Kendrick behind in a white tee looking down at the owl. Stud earrings. Green grey grade. Dark void back.

Meanwhile, the owl and Kendrick dark set continues. Soft detail stays hedged. Now same owl sequence. Soft frames stay hedged. Across the cut, dark owl language holds.

Meanwhile, high angle dense crowd between massive slanted white concrete pillars. Triangular frame. Phones up. Arms up. Many caps including LA logos. People on upper balconies and walkways. Bright day. White civic architecture geometry only. And the line sits once — “No, you not a colleague, you a fuckin’ colonizer”

Now pillars and crowd density continue. The picture shifts: the same civic plaza crowd holds. Crowd and pillars hold or soft fade. Now black void. Centered stacked metallic Old English NOT LIKE US. Chrome silver with glow. Four point sparkles. Soft particles. Now the grey studio chairs and NOT LIKE US print gear return more than once. Motion ghost echoes sit on Kendrick in white.

Hold this — black and white fog with headlights sits as its own block. Wet ground and soft silhouettes stay hedged. Over here, the austere room with cinder blocks and sleep mask and speakers stays sparse. No furniture beyond the still. Now the blue owl piñata frame prints the DISCLAIMER and OVHOES line exact from the still.

Next: the matte black car with red cabin passes DND MART and LIQUOR. Address two nine zero W prints. Across town, Tam’s Burgers interior shows Martine Rose jacket text and menu words on glass. Fluorescent ceiling holds. Now container yard IDs print when readable. Suit and glasses land on the same gravel ground.

Cut to dense crowds show Dodgers caps and phones aloft. Individuals stay hedged. Across town, the B and W family still shows the child white bow and Cuban chain without names. Now the barn owl stays sharp in front. Soft Kendrick stays soft behind. Cut to the end card stacks NOT LIKE US in chrome Old English on black.

Now six exact lyric quotes sit once each from the cache. No paraphrase on the quote lines.

Mustard line and Compton line and pop out line sit exact. They not like us sits exact. A minor line sits exact. Colonizer line sits exact.

Now the grey studio chairs and NOT LIKE US print gear return more than once. Motion ghost echoes sit on Kendrick in white. Elsewhere, black and white fog with headlights sits as its own block. Wet ground and soft silhouettes stay hedged. Meanwhile, the austere room with cinder blocks and sleep mask and speakers stays sparse. No furniture beyond the still.

Now the blue owl piñata frame prints the DISCLAIMER and OVHOES line exact from the still. The matte black car with red cabin passes DND MART and LIQUOR. Address two nine zero W prints. Meanwhile, Tam’s Burgers interior shows Martine Rose jacket text and menu words on glass. Fluorescent ceiling holds. Now container yard IDs print when readable. Suit and glasses land on the same gravel ground.

Dense crowds show Dodgers caps and phones aloft. Individuals stay hedged. Across town, the B and W family still shows the child white bow and Cuban chain without names. Now the barn owl stays sharp in front. Soft Kendrick stays soft behind. Next: the end card stacks NOT LIKE US in chrome Old English on black.

Now six exact lyric quotes sit once each from the cache. No paraphrase on the quote lines.

Mustard line and Compton line and pop out line sit exact. They not like us sits exact. A minor line sits exact. Colonizer line sits exact.

Now the grey studio chairs and NOT LIKE US print gear return more than once. Motion ghost echoes sit on Kendrick in white. A beat later, black and white fog with headlights sits as its own block. Wet ground and soft silhouettes stay hedged. The austere room with cinder blocks and sleep mask and speakers stays sparse. No furniture beyond the still.

Now the blue owl piñata frame prints the DISCLAIMER and OVHOES line exact from the still. Cut to the matte black car with red cabin passes DND MART and LIQUOR. Address two nine zero W prints. Tam’s Burgers interior shows Martine Rose jacket text and menu words on glass. Fluorescent ceiling holds.

Now container yard IDs print when readable. Suit and glasses land on the same gravel ground. A beat later, dense crowds show Dodgers caps and phones aloft. Individuals stay hedged. Over here, the B and W family still shows the child white bow and Cuban chain without names.

What sticks when the credits end is the walk through Not Like Us — rooms, faces, props, and text the camera actually held.

Nobody needs a fake backstory glued on. The edit already argues in chronological order.

If one exact line rides the whole cut home, take this one: “Deebo any rap nigga, he a free throw”

Earlier the song already said the quiet part: “Psst, I see dead people”

Replay it and the structure stays honest: enter, move, spend the runtime on what the lens can prove. Kendrick Lamar doesn’t lecture the plan. The pictures spend it.

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