CHICAGO — Chicago Bulls fans and Windy City rap aficionados alike may have noticed something peculiar after Kendrick Lamar dropped the music video for his smash hit Drake diss “Not Like Us” on the Fourth of July.
DeMar DeRozan, star shooting guard for the Bulls and Compton, California native, appears about halfway through Lamar’s music video as he raps the words, “I’m glad DeRoz’ came home, y’all didn’t deserve him neither.”
DeRozan appears crouched, looking directly into the camera as it zooms out around the 2:44 mark in the video, before it cuts to a wider angle where he can be seen “dapping up” Lamar, or in simpler terms, giving him a handshake.
The lyrics appear to be a celebratory reference to DeRozan’s departure from the Toronto Raptors, who he spent the first nine years of his NBA career playing for. DeRozan was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard in July 2018, before being traded again to the Bulls three years after that.
Lamar and DeRozan have shared roots with both celebrities being Compton natives, and DeRozan has been vocally supportive of Lamar over the years.
Recently at Lamar’s “The Pop Out Show” that was held in Inglewood on Juneteenth, DeRozan appeared on stage alongside Lamar and Russell Westbrook, who’s a native of Long Beach, California.
DeRozan, who’s averaged 25.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists a game over 229 contests as a Bull, has made two all-star teams and was voted second-team All-NBA in 2021-22 since coming to Chicago, but his future in the Windy City is uncertain as the six-time all-star weighs his free agency options.