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.

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 the68th Annual Grammy Awardson 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.

Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" and "luther" music videos have been "removed by the uploader" on YouTube 🤔pic.twitter.com/O31tsLrq97

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 Vargasdismissed the lawsuitin 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.

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 aroundGNX-era and feud-era material, while Lamar's older catalogue remains untouched.

Source: International Business Times UK