Complex magazine dives into the rumor stemming from the rapper’s beef with Kendrick Lamar.

The beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar earlier this summer may have found its way to Houston’s club scene.

According to social media, Drake, who has long touted his ties to Houston and recently bought a ranch in Chappell Hill, has managed to get Lamar’s scathing diss track, “Not Like Us,” banned from Houston DJ booths. But is the rumor true?

Brandon Caldwell, a Houston-based journalist and music writer, delved into the accusations for Complex Magazine last week. And the answer is… kinda? It’s more a matter of etiquette than an outright ban, he writes.

The allegation originally stems from a post on X by user @_NickiMo_, who wrote that “Drake really got Not Like Us banned in Houston.”

When people in her comments pushed back, saying they’d heard the song at clubs like Chapman & Kirby, Bar 5015 and others, NickiMo clarified that she’d been told the ban only applied to certain venues. “Sekai, Clé, Prospect, Kamp all said no” to playing the song, she wrote.

Houston-based performer DJ Ari chimed in, writing that she’d also gotten in trouble for playing it at certain clubs, but did not specify which venues.

Well, Caldwell reached out to a number of Houston DJs, who essentially said that while the song is not outright banned, DJs need to be cognizant of who frequents certain clubs, and the relationship those clubs might have with higher-tier celebrities. (Caldwell tried to get both DJ Ari and Drake’s camp on the record but did not hear from either performer.)

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“As DJs, you have to be mindful about who is at your venue at all times and what songs you need to be cautious about playing,” Houston DJ AudiTory told Complex. “Especially when celebrities are involved.”

DJ Auditory performs frequently at Galleria-area bar Kamp, where Drake was recently spotted enjoying Sunday Funday celebrations.

“I might get a warning from someone in their camp to avoid playing a particular artist’s song(s),” the DJ told Complex. “There are places in Houston that [Drake] frequents that you would be mindful of what you play. But saying that the song is not played in Houston at all would be inaccurate. Most venues don’t have an issue with it. If you’re a good DJ, you can do your set without it, so it shouldn’t need to be an issue.”

A representative from A-Life Hospitality Group, which owns Kamp and Prospect Park, which were both mentioned in NickiMo’s thread, confirmed to Complex that the venues do not dictate what songs DJs play.

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Another Houston DJ, Vanilla Trill, told the publication that it’s less a hard and fast rule and more about mutual respect, noting that when boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. was feuding with rapper T.I., he never would have played the rapper’s music in one of Mayweather’s Vegas clubs.

He also said it’s a matter of Southern hospitality.

“The reality is, in Houston, we operate on respect and as a respectable DJ, I’m not going to play the music of an artist that has beef with an artist that’s in the building or anyone that’s affiliated with the artist in the building cause my job is to make sure everyone has fun,” Vanilla Trill said. “There’s plenty of ways to do that without playing certain songs. Out-of-towners try to sh-t on us over this, but we operate differently out here. They’re overcomplicating it.”

Meanwhile, there is one venue in Houston where a certain artist’s oeuvre is strictly off-limits, according to Cedrick Ntuk, who owns The Locker Room sports bar in the Third Ward. (Ntuk is a self-described Drake fan, but still allows “Not Like Us” to be played in his bar.)