On Sunday, February 2, the 67th Grammy Awards ceremony will not only be taking place in a unique context in the wake of the Los Angeles fires, but it is also likely to be the stage for an unprecedented moment in its history. Rapper Kendrick Lamar is nominated in four categories, including Song of the Year for his diss track "Not Like Us" and twice in Best Rap Song for the same song and for "Like That," his first jab, the one that sparked the feud between him and Drake, the other heavyweight of North American rap music.
Diss tracks, songs in which one artist verbally assaults another, are a musical exercise that has existed since the early days of hip-hop culture, from KRS-One's "South Bronx" (1987) to "Hit Em Up" (1996) by 2Pac. For 2Pac, born Tupac Shakur, this track was partly responsible for his assassination in 1996 and that of his rival, The Notorious B.I.G., the following year. Some of these songs, like Drake's "Back to Back," have been nominated in the Best Rap Performance category at the American music awards ceremony but never in major categories like Best Song and Record of the Year. No rap diss track has ever won an award. With "Not Like Us," this may be about to change.
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