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Drake might be dragging Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime performance into his lawsuit with Universal Music Group.
However, the NFL would not be a defendant in the case but a witness, according to NBC and Sportico. During Kendrick's performance at the Super Bowl earlier this year, he performed his five-time Grammy-winning diss track “Not Like Us,” where the line “certified pedophile” was censored for broadcast. Drake's legal team is arguing that, since the words “certified pedophile” were not okay to air, he wants to amend his civil complaint to show that UMG knew the entire time that the words were an issue.
Drake contends that UMG “understood the words ‘certified pedophile’ to be unacceptable in a broadcast to millions of listeners,” and that “nearly everyone understands that it is defamatory to falsely brand someone as a pedophile.” The Toronto rapper claims that Kendrick “would not have been permitted to perform during the Super Bowl Performance” unless he chose to censor the word “pedophile.”
The Certified Lover Boy creator also claims that UMG did not have his back in ensuring that the song was a way to “force Drake to sign a new deal on terms more favorable to UMG.” Drake claims that since his contract with UMG “was nearing fulfillment,” they wanted to “gain leverage” in an attempt to “devalue” his “music and brand” so they would have the upper hand in negotiations.
“It was the first, and will hopefully be the last, Super Bowl halftime show orchestrated to assassinate the character of another artist,” the complaint reads.
UMG on the other hand is requesting for a dismissal of Drake's suit and calls the motion “illogical” and “frivolous.”
“Instead of accepting the loss like the unbothered rap artist he often claims to be, he has sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds,” the filing read back in March.
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In a statement to CNN on last month, Mike Gottlieb, Drake’s lead attorney, called UMG’s motion a “desperate ploy” to “avoid accountability.”
“UMG wants to pretend that this is about a rap battle in order to distract its shareholders, artists and the public from a simple truth: a greedy company is finally being held responsible for profiting from dangerous misinformation that has already resulted in multiple acts of violence,” the statement read.
UMG fired back and commented on the rapper's amended complaint writing, per ABC, “Drake will personally be subject to discovery as well. As the old saying goes, ‘be careful what you wish for.'”
What's Next For Kendrick Lamar
Although Kendrick wasn't named in the suit, the interest that fans have surrounding this legal beef has only continued to solidify the Compton native's crucial role in the genre. Kendrick has been on a roll after his Super Bowl run and just narrated a Gatorade ad and kicked off his tour in Minneapolis with SZA and DJ Mustard on Saturday (April 19). The trio will be hitting Houston, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Inglewood, Las Vegas and more on their nationwide tour before they head overseas for the second half.
