Michael Jordan spotted vibing to Kendrick Lamar’s hit ‘Not Like Us’ at nightclub

Paparazzi captured Michael Jordan bobbing along to Kendrick Lamar's 2024 instant hit 'Not Like Us' at a nightclub.

Michael Jordan spotted vibing to Kendrick Lamar’s hit ‘Not Like Us’ at nightclub

Michael Jordan, Kendrick Lamar (Images via Wikimedia, Instagram)

Kendrick Lamar had one of the hottest years by any rapper ever in 2024. The Pulitzer Prize winning rapper from Compton initiated and won a rap battle against Drake in six weeks of March, April and May. His coup de grace was releasing a West Coast sound hit ‘Not Like Us’, produced by DJ Mustard. The song has had a major cultural impact, having been adapted to various settings. Even Michael Jordan, who isn’t a hip-hop fan, seems to be aware of its lyrics.

Michael Jordan has taken a conscious step back from public life after his retirement from basketball in 2003. After nearly two decades of being America’s darling, the Wilmington boy in him needed a break from constant news coverage centered on him. Jordan has taken more to pursuing his pet projects like his NASCAR team 23XI Racing, bike racing and Formula One.

Jordan, who once revealed that he listens to Anita Baker and related jazz artists rather than rap music in an ABC interview, isn’t exactly a hip-hop aficionado. The only rapper whom Jordan respects, according to NORE in 2016, is Brooklyn’s finest, Jay-Z. Yet, the viral nature of Kendrick Lamar’s 2024 hit seems to have broken containment from the hip-hop sphere. There are millions of reels and TikTok videos using ‘Not Like Us’ as a soundtrack.

MJ will join the ranks of these reels shortly after being filmed enjoying it at a nightclub. According to a Kendrick Lamar fan page, the GOAT himself had requested the DJ to play this popular song.

‘Not Like Us’ has over 1.38 billion Spotify streams within a little less than a year of release. The YouTube music video for the song has gained 315 million views since its release on Independence Day 2024. These stats make the song eligible for 8x Platinum certification in a short span.

The song has already been used by marching bands during college football season and has become a pop culture staple by itself. While Kendrick Lamar was already the top rapper in the game by both acclaim and popularity, his historic win over Drake establishes him as the undisputed top dog of his generation of rappers.

Michael Jordan had a rude encounter with Chamillionaire once

Michael Jordan built a huge faction of hip-hop artist and rappers as fans during his illustrious basketball career. After all, basketball was at the center of pop culture during his threepeat years with the Chicago Bulls. Dropping Jordan’s name in a hip-hop hit was a staple, even though Jordan himself wasn’t a fan of the genre. However, one of his incidents involving Chamillionaire will rub most people the wrong way.

A fan of Jordan since his childhood days, the rapper hoped to charm MJ into getting a picture with him. However, the Charlotte Hornets owner rudely rebuffed his request, proceeding to then ask for $15,000 for an autographed jersey after Chamillionaire shared a story about paying $7000 for a game-worn jersey of his.

Although Chamillionaire bore no ill-will for Jordan because of that incident, it serves to show that as someone with an old-school upbringing, the Bulls legend is certainly no fan of a genre that is over a decade younger that his own self.

But it is clear that Jordan keeps track of its place in hip-hop culture. The Jumpman, who has song titles referencing him by both Drake and Kendrick Lamar, may have finally seen the point of hip-hop music in the intervening years.