“Internet Reacts: Kendrick Lamar’s New Family Photo Featuring Firearm Sparks Gun Violence Concerns”

On October 4, 2024, the NFR podcast revealed exclusive photos of Kendrick Lamar and his family on X (formerly known as Twitter), claiming they are previously unseen images from the rapper’s “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers”era. These photos were captured during the filming of the “Not Like Us”music video, which features Lamar’s partner, Whitney Alford, and their two children.

In one of the striking images, Lamar is depicted holding a firearm while standing behind his partner and kids. This particular photo sparked significant debate, prompting many internet users to voice their thoughts on X.

Reacting to the image of the rapper with the gun, one user questioned:

“Why is he promoting gun violence, especially with his kids present?”

While some users defended Lamar, suggesting that he carries a gun for family protection, others expressed concern regarding its influence on his children.

“Holding a gun around his kid, what a horrible influence,”a user lamented.

“KEEP THE FAMILY SAFE!!”another user urged.

“Kendrick stays ready to defend his family ✊🏾,”another commenter added.

In contrast, one user expressed appreciation for the photo, stating that the “Mr. Morale”era produced some incredibly compelling visuals.

“This era produced some crazy good photos.”

Furthermore, some users drew comparisons to Drake in their commentary on Lamar’s image with the weapon:

“Hope Drake learned something from this,”a user remarked.

Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”Ties Record for Longest-Running No. 1 Track on Billboard Hot Rap Chart

Kendrick Lamar released “Not Like Us”on May 4, 2024, just hours after unveiling his track “Meet The Grahams.”This track marks Lamar’s fourth diss track directed at Drake, in which he alleges that the Canadian rapper is a pedophile. The song also takes aim at 2Pac’s estate, expressing frustration over Drake’s reputed use of Tupac Shakur’s AI-generated voice in his track “Taylor Made Freestyle.”

Additionally, Lamar debuted the music video for “Not Like Us”on July 4, 2024, which contains several references aimed at Drake, including the appearance of owls, symbolic of Drizzy’s OVO record label.

According to Hit Channel, on October 3, 2024, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”tied with Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road”for the title of the longest-running No. 1 track on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart. The track has held the top position for an impressive 20 consecutive weeks, racking up over 810 million streams since its release, and is projected to reach one billion streams by the end of 2024.

The publication also highlighted that, in addition to breaking streaming records, “Not Like Us”became the fastest hip-hop track to achieve 300 million views on Spotify, surpassing Drake’s previous single-day streaming record.

In other news, Kendrick Lamar announced on Instagram on September 8, 2024, that he will headline the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, which will be held in February 2025 in New Orleans.

This announcement elicited mixed reactions within the music industry, with artists like Nicki Minaj suggesting that Lil Wayne, a New Orleans native, should have been chosen to perform at the event.

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