Drake could be legally maneuvering to prevent Kendrick Lamar from performing the culture-quaking song “Not Like Us” at the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans in February.
After all, the annual Super Bowl and its coveted Halftime Show slot is, by far, the most watched program on television every year — and it’s not even close — as it attracts north of 110 million viewers.
The “Not Like Us” track put the nail in the coffin of K.Dot’s obliteration of Drizzy in one of the most consequential rap battles of all time.
Drizzy has filed a second legal petition against Universal Music Group [UMG] over the diss song that became an instant classic right after its release. It garnered over 100 million streams within the first week.
Drake has now submitted a pre-filing in Texas after his previously filing in New York, accusing UMG of defamation for “falsely accusing him of being a sex offender, engaging in pedophilic acts, harboring sex offenders and committing other criminal sexual acts.”
Drizzy is referring to the lyrics that said, “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophile” and “Tryna strike a chord / and it’s probably A minor.”
In New York, where Drizzy filed his first pre-action petition, he accused UMG of a pay-for-play in order to boost Lamar’s numbers on “Not Like Us” and turn it into a far bigger blockbuster hit than it actually was.
Can Drake stop Lamar from performing ‘Not Like Us’ at the Super Bowl?’
Monique Larmond, an attorney and co-founder of the Givens & Larmond Law Group, explained what could happen if Drake were to file an injunction.
“As us lawyers like to say, it depends,” Larmond told The Shade Room. “What does it depend on? If Drake were to file an injunction, he may be able to stop Kendrick from performing the song that way; however, he would have to get the court to agree and grant the injunction. But, a lot of courts are reluctant to [grant] injunctions — especially that are related to defamation lawsuits — because they do not want to impede on our First Amendment rights, which is the right to free speech.”
Fans sound off about the possible implications
Hip-hop heads had a lot to say about the implications of Drake’s moves in recent days.
“Drake soft 🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂,” said one IG user.
“This just made me want to bump that song more,” a second added.
A third fan reminded that folks that Drizzy has yet to file an actual lawsuit.
“Drake haven’t even filed a lawsuit — he filed a petition to the label for basically an investigation into the illegal streams — it’s not a lawsuit at the moment,” they stated.
“Drake lowkey standing up for Lil Wayne, too,” a fourth person said.
One respondent doesn’t think that Drake’s claims have legal merit.
“Drake doesn’t have a case,” they argued. “Kendrick claims and song did not interfere with Drake’s income. UMG is a company entitled to spend its funds as it sees fit.”
But another fan thinks that “Not Like Us” is overblown. “Most overrated song in history by far!” the person wrote.
One fan drew an interesting parallel. “But how does that apply when the defamation is wrapped up in artistic expression?” they questioned. “Eminem would’ve been sued to homelessness by now if you could sue over rap lyrics alone.”
“I can’t believe we are talking about a lawsuit stemming from a rap song. Wow. Drake really?! 🗑️,” said a disgusted music head.
