Uneasiness hovers like storm clouds over the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans regarding Kendrick Lamar’s performance during the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show.
As lawyers and lawmakers descend on the Crescent City with their opinions and letters, there are concerns among Lamar’s fanbase that he will be denied the opportunity to perform the blockbuster club anthem “Not Like Us.”
Louisiana lawmakers demand that the halftime show be clean
According to NOLA.com, a group of Louisiana lawmakers sent a letter to the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the Louisiana Stadium and Expo District imploring that the halftime show be “family friendly.”
Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter noted that NFL executives nervously procured the playlist that Lamar and SZA plan to perform, knowing that he may play “Not Like Us,” which includes allegedly defamatory bars that Drake is suing about. Vice News stated that lawyers for Fox, which is airing the Super Bowl, are poring over all of the lyrics to the songs that Lamar and SZA will perform to prevent any FCC violations.
Kendrick Lamar expected to perform ‘Not Like Us’ despite the looming lawsuit
Having said that, the risk of Lamar getting into a legal entanglement for performing the global smash is pretty low, First Amendment litigator Ken White told the Los Angeles Times.
On January 15, Drake sued his own label, Universal Music Group, for releasing Not Like Us, because it included injurious lyrics that he claimed put his family in peril. Interestingly enough, the author of the song, Lamar, was not listed as a defendant alongside UMG.
Kendrick Lamar refused to state what songs he’ll perform
Lamar, for his part, refused to clue fans in what he’s going to ultimately do. When he sat down during his pre-Super Bowl press conference, the Pulitzer Prize-winning lyricist was coy about what would be included in his set. Instead, he elaborated on his philosophy about rap music.
“I think I’ve always been very open about storytelling throughout all of my catalog and my history of music,” Lamar said, according to Rolling Stone. “And I’ve always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on … I’ve always had a form of that sense of making people listen, but also see and think a little.”
Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show will be historic for quite a few reasons, mainly because he’s the first solo rap act to headline the show in the broadcast’s almost 60 year history. This is apropos, given that Not Like Us swept the Grammys on Sunday, winning Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video.
