It’s now been a week since Kendrick Lamar released his "Not Like Us" music video. That video now has more than 45 million views and it’s even generated attention and business for a local burger joint.
Part of the video was shot at Tam’s Burgers at Rosecrans and Central Avenues in his hometown Compton, leading to a fan frenzy and a new mural of the Grammy-winning rapper himself.
Since the video dropped, people worldwide have been stopping by for food and photos.
“People don’t realize the impact that hip-hop and our culture has, but clearly you can see that it’s a big thing,” Richard Oliveira said. “Just to know that in a day like we are today that Kendrick can have such an impact, it’s just phenomenal.”
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“He could have gotten a partnership with any number of huge chain businesses and probably gotten a huge paycheck to do that, but that’s not what he’s about. He’s about the people, he’s about the culture,” fan Blair Imani said.
Rita Wakefield stopped by Tam’s on her visit from Australia.
“Black American culture has a huge impact on us, and it’s super, super important to us,” Wakefield said. “It was just really an amazing reminder of the work that Kendrick is doing in the community and inspirational for us.”
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But in addition to the fans, earlier this week a muralist drew a Kendrick Lamar "They Not Like Us" mural wrapped around the business. Muralist Mike Norice said he wanted to let fans know exactly where the rapper stood.
“This stamps the landmark that Kendrick did the video at,” Norice said.
“I was working long days, coming in at 6 o clock in the morning, not leaving til 9, 10 o clock at night. Just steadily grinding, very little to no breaks, just painting constantly,” he added. “This is God’s gift to me and I’m just doing what he set me to do.”
Norice hopes this honors Lamar, a man who gives back to Compton.
“A lot of times, people blow up and they don’t ever come back. Kendrick has done that. He has shown love his entire career,” Norice said.
Many people in the city have known of Tam’s for years, but the video has added to the popularity of the restaurant. That’s why one fan said the mural is appropriate – recognizing the rapper, too.
“So many of the murals we’ve seen have been of people who have fallen, like Kobe Bryant and Nipsey Hussle. People who have made an impact on the community, and maybe they didn’t realize the impact that they had so it’s really beautiful to see Kendrick being celebrated while he is still here to get his flowers,” Imani said.
