Demar DeRozan Insists Drake Is ‘Still My Man’ After "Not Like Us" Video Cameo and Pop Out Concert Appearance

DeMar DeRozan says he's still friends with Drake despite appearing onstage with Kendrick Lamar at the Pop Out concert in Inglewood and the music video for "Not Like Us."

In a conversation with the Sacramento Bee published Wednesday, DeRozan reflected on his relationship with Kendrick. He said the rapper is like "family" to him and that he'll be there for his Compton brethren whenever needed. However, he also stated that despite what many believe, he's still cool with Drake.

"Drake's still my man, still my man, none of it changed," DeRozan told the newspaper. "It's so easy to get overlooked and look at it for what it looks like, but at the end of the day it's music, entertainment. Two of the biggest rappers in the world went at it from a competitive standpoint, and they battled it out."

He added, "That's what you want to see as a fan: Kobe playing Jordan 1-on-1 and see who wins, see the trash talking, and whoever wins out of that, you're still going to have the debate, so that's all that is."

In an interview with Fox40's Sean Cunningham earlier this month, DeRozan admitted he made a cameo in the "Not Like Us" video because K. Dot is like family to him, but he did note that people, himself included, still love Drake.

DeRozan played for the Toronto Raptors between 2009 and 2018 while forming a strong friendship with the 6 God. When the Raptors traded DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard in 2018, Drake shared a tribute post honoring DeRozan's time with the team.

"To my brother @demar_derozan I want to say 10 million thank you's on behalf of YOUR city," Drake wrote at the time. "You are a fixture in Toronto forever and you gave everything you had. Through your leadership we had the most exciting years in franchise history."