via
Getty
Images)
Before
Kendrick
Lamar
gave
everyone
what
they
tuned
in
for
and
performed
“Not
Like
Us”
on
one
of
the
biggest
stages
on
the
globe,
he
performed
a
skit
teasing
that
playing
the
song
would
set
Drake’s
lawyers
in
attack
mode.
When
he
did
perform
the
song,
it
is
worth
noting
that
Kendrick
never
called
Drake
a
pedophile
—
the
vertically
challenged
musician
took
the
high
road
and
self-censored
that
part.
Now,
did
that
stop
the
millions
of
viewers
at
home
from
hearing
the
packed
stadium
belt
out
a
glorious
a
minorrrrrrrrrrr?
No,
but
it’s
a
little
strange
to
punish
Universal
Music
Group
for
having
a
participatory
audience,
right?
Drake
and
his
lawyers
don’t
think
so.
ABA
Journal
has
coverage:
Rapper
and
singer
Drake
has
alleged
that
the
Universal
Music
Group
“has
tripled
and
quadrupled
down
on
its
defamation-for-profit
strategy”
in
part
by
arranging
for
fellow
rapper
Kendrick
Lamar
to
perform
his
2024
song
“Not
Like
Us”
at
the
2025
Super
Bowl,
according
to
an
amended
lawsuit
that
he
filed
April
16.The
rap
track
falsely
accuses
Drake
of
being
a
pedophile
“and
calls
for
violent
retribution,”
according
to
the
suit.
Even
though
Lamar
left
out
the
word
“pedophile”
at
the
Super
Bowl,
the
defamatory
meaning
was
still
conveyed,
causing
more
people
“to
be
duped
into
believing
that
Drake
was
a
pedophile,”
according
to
the
amended
complaint,
filed
in
federal
court
in
the
Southern
District
of
New
York.
Look.
There’s
no
denying
that
Drake
has
a
lot
of
money
and
can
afford
some
of
the
best
lawyers,
but
did
they
read
the
“his
silence
carried
defamatory
meaning”
part
out
loud
a
couple
of
times
before
it
went
live?
It
holds
weight
theoretically,
but
what
could
Kendrick
have
done
during
that
part
of
the
song
to
not
run
afoul?
Have
Uncle
Samuel
Jackson
interrupt
the
bridge
to
say
that
any
similarity
with
actual
events
or
rappers
on
this
stage
are
purely
coincidental
and
should
not
be
taken
as
assertions
of
fact?
While
that
may
have
fit
with
the
cultural
superego
motif
Uncle
Sam
was
going
for,
it
would
have
definitely
ruined
the
cadence
of
the
song.
If
Drake
and
his
legal
team
seriously
want
to
go
in
on
this
silence
is
sufficient
for
defamation
line
of
argument,
that
can
only
mean
one
thing.
We
should
soon
catch
news
of
Conan
O’Brian
being
served
for
daring
to
reference
Kendrick’s
Superbowl
Victory
Lap
at
the
Oscars:
Unlike
Kendrick,
Conan
O’Brien
actually
used
the
no-no
word.
Let’s
find
out
how
“lawyered
up”
he
really
is.
Universal
Music
Group
had
this
to
say
about
the
once
respected
rapper’s
legal
move:
“Drake,
unquestionably
one
of
the
world’s
most
accomplished
artists
and
with
whom
we’ve
enjoyed
a
16-year
successful
relationship,
is
being
misled
by
his
legal
representatives
into
taking
one
absurd
legal
step
after
another,”
the
statement
said.“We
will
demonstrate
that
all
remaining
claims
are
without
merit,”
the
statement
said.
“It
is
shameful
that
these
foolish
and
frivolous
legal
theatrics
continue.
They
are
reputationally
and
financially
costly
to
Drake
and
have
no
chance
of
success.”
Damn.
That
“reputationally
and
financially
costly”
line
was
devastating.
Who
wrote
that?
Kendrick?
Drake
Alleges
Kendrick
Lamar’s
Super
Bowl
Performance
Defamed
Him
In
Amended
Suit
Against
Music
Company
[ABA
Journal]
Drake’s
Attempt
To
Parlay
Rap
Battle
Loss
Into
Courtroom
Success
Results
In
Another
Loss
Universal
Music
Group
Moves
To
Dismiss
Disgraced
Rapper’s
Lawsuit
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, a
published
author
on
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected] and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.