Like That (Future, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar song)
| "Like That" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Future, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar | |
| from the album We Don't Trust You | |
| Released | March 22, 2024 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:27 |
| Label | |
| Songwriter(s) | |
| Producer(s) | Metro Boomin |
| Audio video | |
| "Like That" on YouTube | |
"Like That" is a song by American rapper Future, American producer Metro Boomin and fellow American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 22, 2024, through Freebandz, Boominati Worldwide, Epic Records, and Republic Records as the sixth track from the former two's collaborative studio album, We Don't Trust You. A diss track aimed at fellow rappers Drake and J. Cole, the song received positive reviews from critics, who primarily praised Lamar's performance.
Background
On October 6, 2023, Drake released the song "First Person Shooter" as part of his album For All the Dogs, with rapper J. Cole, in which the latter shouts out the two rappers and Kendrick Lamar as the "big three" of rap music.[1] Additionally, Drake indirectly called out Metro Boomin in December 2023 for being a "tweet and deleter" after the latter posted a tweet on Twitter aimed at him.[2]
Composition and lyrics
"Like That" is a "bouncy" trap and hardcore hip hop track driven by "rapid" and "uniquely southern" percussions, as well as a "menacing" bassline.[3] It samples two songs: Rodney-O & Joe Cooley's "Everlasting Bass" (1986) and Eazy-E's "Eazy-Duz-It" (1989).[3] Metro Boomin, who has greatly admired the former group, contacted Rodney-O through his record companies and asked for his permission to use the sped-up sample on "Like That". He approved after listening to a version of the song that cut off before Lamar's verse started.[4]
Lyrically, Lamar uses his surprise appearance to directly respond to "First Person Shooter", rapping: "Yeah, get up with me, fuck sneak dissing / "First Person Shooter", I hope they came with three switches". He also rejected J. Cole's idea of the three rappers representing hip hop as its "big three" and claims that he alone takes the top spot: "Motherfuck the big three, nigga it's just big me".[5] Throughout his verse, Lamar compares his rivalry with Drake to Prince's reported feud with Michael Jackson ("What? I'm really like that / And your best work is a light pack / Nigga, Prince outlived Mike Jack"),[6] while making references to the Click ("Niggas clickin' up, but cannot be legit / No 40 Water") and Stephen King's 1983 novel Pet Sematary ("'Fore all your dogs gettin' buried / That's a K with all these nines / He gon' see Pet Semetary").[7]
Critical reception
Angel Diaz of Billboard ranked "Like That" as the third best song on We Don't Trust You. Diaz wrote that the track is "Hip-Hop in its purest form" and described it as "the album’s thesis".[8]
Andrew Sacher of BrooklynVegan argued that the Lamar appearance feels "like an event" and "another great one" at that, as he shows up in a "chest-out, no-bullshit mod" on the track.[9] Carl Lamarre at Billboard thought that Lamar appeared on the track with "vitriol" while delivering "an explosive verse".[5] HotNewHipHop's Alexander Cole called the beat a perfect fit for Future, "who glides over the track at the beginning and end".[10] Dylan Green of Pitchfork thought, "It's guest Kendrick Lamar who provides the song's showstopping moment, dropping the therapeutic malaise of 2022's Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers in favor of coming directly at contemporaries J. Cole and Drake after years of subliminals." [11]
Commercial performance
Upon the release of We Don't Trust You, "Like That" earned 10.26 million on-demand streams in the United States, and 25.62 million streams within its first three days of availability.[12] 3.73 million of its first-day plays came from Spotify, where it bested its closest competitor by nearly 400,000 streams.[13] Several of Drake's previous songs, including "First Person Shooter" and "What Would Pluto Do", received small to moderate streaming bumps either due to it being directly referenced in Lamar's verse and/or fan speculation over which of Drake's songs inspired his diss.[12]
References
- ^ Walker, Joe (March 22, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar torches Drake & J. Cole on ruthless new collab: 'MF the big 3!'". HipHopDX. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ^ Navjosh (December 31, 2023). "Metro Boomin Says His Issues with Drake Are "Not Deep At All"". HipHopNMore. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ^ a b Westlake, Wyatt (March 22, 2024). "Future & Metro Boomin "We Don't Trust You": The 7 Best Beats". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ Elibert, Mark (March 24, 2024). "Rodney O Says Metro Boomin Approached Him to Clear Sample for "Like That"". Complex. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Lamarre, Carl (March 22, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar Takes Hard Shots at Drake and J. Cole on Future and Metro Boomin's "Like That"". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ^ Power, Ed (January 29, 2024). "Why Michael Jackson and Prince hated each other: the feud over We Are The World". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ Perry, Kevin E.G. (March 22, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar disses Drake and J Cole on new song: 'It's just big me'". The Independent. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ Saponara, Michael; Diaz, Angel (March 22, 2024). "Future & Metro Boomin's 'We Don't Trust You': All 17 Tracks Ranked". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ Sacher, Andrew (March 22, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar gives standout guest verse on Future & Metro Boomin's "Like That"". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ^ Cole, Alexander (March 22, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar Joins Future & Metro Boomin On Fiery New Cut "Like That"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ^ Green, Dylan. "Future / Metro Boomin: "Like That" [ft. Kendrick Lamar]". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ a b Denis, Kyle; Lipshutz, Jason; Unterberger, Andrew (March 27, 2024). "Future & Metro's Streams Are Boomin With Viral Kendrick Lamar-Featuring 'Like That'". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ McIntyre, Hugh (March 23, 2024). "Future And Metro Boomin's Album Enjoys A Remarkable Spotify Debut". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
