Kendrick Lamar will be the headliner for Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9 in New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome. Last year, Kendrick and Drake traded shots over diss tracks which evidently ended with the Compton native’s viral sensation “Not Like Us.”
On the track, Kendrick alleges that Drake is a pedophile and that he is an outsider in the hip-hop community and leeches onto Black culture when in his best interest. Drake took legal action against Universal Music Group and Spotify claiming that both companies were conspiring by promoting the false allegations in Kendrick’s “Not Like Us.”
Drake started his relationship with UMG under Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment label in 2009. After leaving the label and starting his own, OVO, he signed a new deal with UMG reportedly up to $400 million in 2022 under UMG’s Republic Records division. His deal is up for renegotiation this year.
UMG just responded to Drake’s legal action filed back in November this week. The music company denies the For All The Dogs emcee’s claims that they were trying to defame him by releasing and promoting the song. They also claim that the Canadian rapper is attempting to disregard the First Amendment right which is freedom of speech.
“Because [Drake’s] petition is related to and was filed in response to UMG’s protected free speech, and because [Drake] cannot carry his burden to establish by clear and specific evidence that he is entitled to pre-suit discovery, the Court should dismiss [Drake’s] retaliatory legal action against UMG,” the filing reads per Variety.
“[Drake] provides nothing outside of his verified petition, which alone cannot provide an evidentiary basis for a petition,” UMG continues. “Even looking into the petition […] there is no evidentiary support for his asserted need for pre-suit deposition of UMG.”
As for the evidence that the rapper submitted, UMG states that “these claims from unnamed, unidentified out-of-court declarants are hearsay and are not admissible as evidence.”
UMG wants Drake to drop the petition and pay for their legal fees.
Will Kendrick Lamar Play “Not Like Us” At The Super Bowl?
According to the U.S. Sun, Drake has no legal barings to stop the performance of “Not Like Us” at next month’s Super Bowl. A source tells the publication that Kendrick is not letting Drake get to him.
“He won’t back down,” one of the insiders told them.
“He doesn’t care about what Drake says or what he thinks about the song; it’s a hit. Kendrick won’t be silenced or shut down.”
SZA, who collaborated with Drake officially for the first time in 2024, will also be a part of Kendrick’s Super Bowl performance as a special guest. The two will hit a 19-stop stadium tour together in May of this year.
“Not Like Us” is up for five Grammys at this year’s award show. The diss track is nominated for Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, Best Music Video, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year. Kendrick is also nominated for Best Rap Song again for his verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That.”
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