Super Bowl GNX
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What happened after Kendrick Lamar's last episode?
Today Explained does not bring you the story of Not Like Us today. We did that back in May when it was the biggest story in music. But a lot has happened since then. Shortly after our episode aired, Kendrick Lamar closed out a Juneteenth concert by playing the Drake diss track six consecutive times. In September, we found out Kendrick would be headlining the Super Bowl halftime show.
How did Kendrick Lamar's song become an anthem?
The song became the anthem for the Dodgers championship season. It got played at Harris rallies. Remember Kamala? Then in November, it got nominated for five Grammys. It would go on to win all of them on Sunday. That's a record for any song ever. But also in November, Drake took this beef to court. That's never really happened in a rap beef before.
What legal actions have been taken in the rap beef?
Just a few weeks ago, Drake sued Kendrick's label over Not Like Us. There's pending litigation over this song heading into Kendrick's performance this Super Bowl Sunday, and that's what we're going to explain on the show today.
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What are the implications of the lawsuit involving Drake?
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I got, I got, I got, I got. Today Explained.
Sydney Madden has been following the Drake-Kendrick story for months for NPR, and she's here to tell you about how this historic rap beef became a historic legal battle.
How has the beef affected Kendrick Lamar's success?
So back in November, in the midst of, honestly, Kendrick dropping his sixth studio album and taking a big victory lap off the beef, Drake filed a legal action alleging that his label, his parent company, Universal Music Group, colluded with the streaming giant Spotify in order to boost Not Like Us to become this streaming darling and one of the most streamed songs of 2024. And debuting in the number one spot is Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us.
All right, 2024 has been a great year for Kendrick as he lands on top of the Billboard charts.
It's Lamar's first ever number one on the year-end global songs chart. And really became this undeniable hit and propelled it to be such a cultural force. And... I think the merits of that were questioned because we heard that song at high school graduations, at bar mitzvahs. They don't even like drink at the bar mitzvahs. At weddings. As walkout songs at sporting events. Number nine. Spotify didn't do any of that. You know, people have autonomy and that song bumps. Like, let's be honest.
Why is Drake suing his own label?
They not like us. They not like you.
So that legal action was later withdrawn. And this new lawsuit that really replaced it, it goes at Universal Music Group specifically. And it's not about the song itself. It's not about the merits of the song or how popular the song was, but it's about how UMG used all of its power in the music industry to mobilize the song and further the accusation that Kendrick makes in the track, which is that Drake is allegedly a pedophile. Drake denies the claim that he's a pedophile or a child groomer of any kind, but it details the amount of real world harm that's been caused by the accusations in the song.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What happened after Kendrick Lamar's last episode?
0:00–0:22
2
How did Kendrick Lamar's song become an anthem?
0:22–0:41
3
What legal actions have been taken in the rap beef?
0:41–1:15
4
What are the implications of the lawsuit involving Drake?
1:15–2:21
5
How has the beef affected Kendrick Lamar's success?
2:21–3:42
6
Why is Drake suing his own label?
3:42–5:55
7
What are the stakes for Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl?
5:55–7:43
8
Will Kendrick perform 'Not Like Us' at the Super Bowl?
7:43–25:30