'Not Like Us' and 'Luther' Deleted as Kendrick Lamar Mysteriously Scrubs Major Hits From YouTube Without Warning

Two of the most culturally significant music videos of the past decade have abruptly vanished from YouTube, erased without warning, statement or explanation from Kendrick Lamar or his team.

On 12 May 2026, fans attempting to access the official music videos for 'Not Like Us' and 'Luther' on Lamar's verified YouTube channel were met with a message reading 'removed by the uploader'. The disappearances form part of a broader, simultaneous erasure: Lamar's GNX album and his single 'euphoria' have been removed from Apple Music, while 'Not Like Us' and 'Meet the Grahams' remain available as standalone tracks on the platform. Neither PGLang, Lamar's creative company, nor Interscope Records has issued a public statement. The timing is difficult to ignore: Drake's ninth studio album, Iceman, is confirmed for release on 15 May 2026, available on all major streaming platforms.

A Catalogue That Conquered Everything, Then Vanished

The deletions carry significant weight when placed against the scale of what these tracks achieved. 'Not Like Us', released on 4 May 2024 during Lamar's feud with Drake, became the most decorated battle rap record in Grammy history. At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, the track swept all five of its nominated categories, winning Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Music Video, becoming the most-awarded rap song in Grammy history.

Its chart dominance was equally historic. In October 2024, 'Not Like Us' broke the record set by 'Old Town Road' for the most weeks spent atop the Hot Rap Songs chart. 'Not Like Us' subsequently broke the record for most weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 for a rap song, spending a record 52 consecutive weeks on the chart.

'Luther', Lamar's collaboration with SZA, captured a record-tying 22nd week at number one on the multi-metric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, matching 'Not Like Us' for the all-time mark since the chart became a singular, all-encompassing genre ranking in October 1958. At the 68th Annual Grammy Awards on 1 February 2026, Lamar won Record of the Year for 'Luther', Best Rap Album for GNX, Best Rap Song, Best Melodic Rap Performance and Best Rap Performance, breaking the record for the rapper with the most Grammy wins ever.

The Legal Shadow Over 'Not Like Us'

The removal of 'Not Like Us' arrives against the backdrop of a still-live legal battle. Drake originally filed his lawsuit in January 2025, alleging that UMG knowingly published and promoted the song despite its lyrical content being false and defamatory. Judge Vargas dismissed the lawsuit in October 2025, ruling that 'Not Like Us' constitutes protected opinion rather than actionable defamation.

US District Judge Jeannette Vargas granted UMG's motion to dismiss the lawsuit in its entirety, holding that 'a reasonable listener could not have concluded that "Not Like Us" was conveying objective facts about Drake', and that the diss track was therefore not defamatory as a matter of law.

Drake did not accept that outcome. He appealed the dismissal in January 2026, arguing that the district court created a dangerous categorical rule that rap diss tracks can never be actionable. UMG filed its own response brief arguing that Drake had 'goaded' Lamar into writing the lyrics he was now suing over, and that rap diss tracks 'signal, if not shout, opinion not fact'. Whether the appeal proceedings carry any bearing on Tuesday's removals is, at this stage, unknown. No filing in the case instructs Lamar to remove the material, and the lawsuit targets UMG, not Lamar directly.

What Is and Isn't Still Available

The scope of the disappearance is selective, which is itself a data point. The 'removed by the uploader' designation on YouTube indicates the action was deliberate rather than a third-party takedown. It could be a glitch, or it could be deliberate; it could have been Lamar's team, or it could have been a hacker, at this stage the possibilities are practically endless. What is not in doubt is the specificity: the removals are tightly clustered around GNX-era and feud-era material, while Lamar's older catalogue remains untouched.

The timing is also incredibly peculiar when factoring in that Drake is set to drop Iceman later this week. On the confirmed single 'What Did I Miss?', Drake addresses the aftermath of his feud with Lamar, calling out those who chose to 'play both sides' rather than support him during the dispute. Lamar has largely receded from public view in recent months, making a handful of appearances on Baby Keem's Ca$ino before going quiet. That silence, combined with Tuesday's targeted removals, has produced a vacuum that the internet is filling with conjecture.

The Silence Is Doing Its Own Work

Theories circulating online fall broadly into two camps: a strategic move by Lamar's camp to deny Drake's new album a ready-made cultural reference point, or a contractual or licensing development that has yet to surface publicly. What is verifiable is Lamar's commercial position: his Grand National Tour with SZA became the highest-grossing co-headlining tour of all time, and he became the first rapper to accumulate over 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify. He has no obvious financial incentive to permanently diminish the footprint of two of the most-streamed songs of the past two years.

What remains absent, conspicuously, completely, is any official word. PGLang has not posted. Interscope has not issued a release. Lamar's personal social media accounts show no activity. In an industry where catalogue decisions of this magnitude are rarely executed without accompanying press strategy, the silence is itself a statement. As of publication, neither Kendrick Lamar's representatives nor Interscope Records had responded to requests for comment.

The music industry is watching. So, for the first time in a long time, is everyone else.

Update:

In a swift and unexplained reversal, Kendrick Lamar's historic music videos for 'Not Like Us' and 'Luther' have reappeared on his official YouTube channel just minutes ago.

Following widespread speculation over their abrupt deletion earlier today, fresh uploads of the Grammy-winning visuals are now live, with 'Luther' and 'Not Like Us' displaying upload timestamps of 40 minutes and 17 minutes ago, respectively.

Despite the prompt reinstatement, neither Lamar's creative agency PGLang nor Interscope Records has issued a statement clarifying whether the brief disappearance was a technical glitch, a targeted hack, or a deliberate maneuver amidst the impending release of Drake's ninth studio album.