Kendrick Lamar‘s video shoot for “Not Like Us” is at the center of a controversy between the city of Compton, local businesses, and DJ Akademiks.
Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Times reported that local businesses in the city of Compton lost money because officials didn’t give them enough notice that Lamar’s music video was going to be shot in the area.
Corina Pleasant, who runs soul food restaurant Alma’s Place with her mother, told the Times that “it was really disheartening to have the electricity on and gas … I’m just running everything and making no money.” Pleasant ultimately put the blame on city officials, saying the business lost around $2,000 thanks to a lack of forewarning.
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DJ Akademiks then posted a screenshot of the story on his Instagram, with a section of the reporting written as the caption. As fans began criticizing Lamar for what happened in the comments section of the post, the official account for Alma’s Place vehemently disagreed. “THIS ENTIRE POST IS MISQUOT3D AND PUSHING A NARRATIVE THAT WE DO NOT REPRESENT,” the comment read. “People, please do not believe everything you read. Words have been twisted, and it’s not right.”
The comment continued, once again placing the blame on the city rather than on K. Dot. “The city should have made better decisions with notification to tax paying business owners,” it said. “We, in no way have any negative commentary for Kendrick. This was a city issue! And @akademiks you better be careful about misquoting people and twisting words. WE NEVER Spoke To you, so how are you misquoting verbiage as fact!?”
In a statement to the LA Times, the City of Compton said they will try to be better at communicating with local businesses in the future. “Businesses in Compton, especially small businesses, are the backbone of our city,” the statement said. “We want to continue to keep an open line of communication and do everything we can to support economic growth.”
While some business were hurt by the video shoot, another benefited from being featured in a scene. According to the owners, Tam’s Burgers No. 21 saw around a 40 percent increase in sales after the video came out. Lamar was also credited with helping Toronto Chinese restaurant New Ho King with new business, after he mentioned the restaurant in “Euphoria.”
Check out Akademiks’ post, and Alma’s Place’s response in its comments section, below:
