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404.891.0977 AttorneyRobertJames.com 233 Peachtree St. NE Suite 1200 Atlanta, GA 30303 INSIDE THIS ISSUE
The Comfort Zone Is Where Dreams Go to Die
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History’s Forgotten Music Machine
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Pulpits and Pumpkins
Apple Upside-Down Cake
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Danish Parenting Demystified
Lyrics and Litigation
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HALFTIME HEAT Hype, Hits, and a High-Stakes Lawsuit
“I wanna make a move. I wanna play their favorite song, but you know they love to sue.” These were the words rap superstar Kendrick Lamar used during his halftime performance at this year’s Super Bowl to introduce his song “Not Like Us.” Although he may have intended it to be a joke, his words proved prophetic. Of course, the “they” referenced in Lamar’s intro was fellow rapper Drake, with whom he’d been engaged in a high-profile feud resulting in “diss tracks” and fiery public statements. Although rap battles are nothing new — the late 1990s murders of the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur are widely rumored to have been linked to their public conflict — the Lamar/Drake schism reached epic proportions during the February sporting event, playing out in front of a global audience of more than 130 million. Most incendiary of all, “Not Like Us” features lyrics suggesting that Drake — who has sold more than 500 million units in his musical career — has a sexual interest in minors.
Recordings, which, interestingly, also oversees the plaintiff’s music catalog. In an amended complaint filed shortly after the Super Bowl, Drake alleges that Lamar “duped” the audience into believing he had immoral proclivities. “It was the first, and will hopefully be the last, Super Bowl halftime show orchestrated to assassinate the character of another artist,” the suit adds. Faced with a major lawsuit filed by one of its artists, UMG quickly issued a public statement, voicing dismay over Drake’s legal maneuverings in recent months. “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.”
While the ultimate conclusion of Drake’s latest move in his longstanding feud with his musical arch nemesis was unknown at the time of this writing, what is clear is that combining a bruised ego with big money often leads to interesting times for the legal world.
Lamar’s performance of the track exacerbated an already contentious defamation suit Drake filed in January against Lamar’s record label, UMG
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