Taraji P Henson performed a parody of Kendrick Lamar‘s hit song, “Not Like Us,” to open the 2024 BET Awards on Sunday night. In doing so, she rocked a similar outfit to what he wore for The Pop Out – Ken & Friends concert in Los Angeles, earlier this month. She also changed the lyrics to “it’s about us.”
Fans on social media had mixed responses to the bit. “This is super corny but that song is hot,” one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Another remarked: “As proven this track took off because of the beat lol.” Elsewhere during Henson’s opening monologue, she made reference to Donald Trump’s recent comments on “Black jobs” during the first presidential debate for the 2024 election. “[This is] a show packed full of all-stars with Black jobs. Whatever that means,” she said. “But clearly we know there’s a difference – thanks for the info, but we already knew it.”
Taraji P. Henson Parodies “Not Like Us” During BET Awards
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 30: Host Taraji P. Henson speaks onstage during the 2024 BET Awards at Peacock Theater on June 30, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
Since dropping the song amid Lamar’s viral feud with Drake, “Not Like Us” has become one of his most successful tracks to date. After The Pop Out, Lamar took to the streets of L.A. to record a star-studded music video for the song. He’s yet to provide a release date for it, however.
Taraji P. Henson Parodies “Not Like Us”
Check out a clip of Henson performing her version of “Not Like Us” above. Be on the lookout for further updates on Taraji P Henson on HotNewHipHop.
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Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor’s degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends.
On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni.
His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.
