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Kendrick Lamar picked up 5 more Grammy Awards on Sunday to bring his total to 22 and he took home the coveted Song of the Year and Record of the Year awards for Not Like Us which was borne out of his beef with Drake. A week after the Grammys, Kendrick Lamar will take the stage in New Orleans for the Super Bowl Halftime Show and days ahead of that controversial performance, Dr. Dre has now publicly spoken out against Drake and sided with Kendrick.
I say ‘controversial’ because lawmakers in Louisiana have expressed ‘serious concerns’ over Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, citing past performances from J.Lo, Rihanna, and Janet Jackson as the source of their concern. In reality, Kendrick Lamar is going to crush it though it remains to be seen if ‘Not Like Us’ will be performed at the Super Bowl given Drake’s ongoing lawsuit against UMG.
Dr. Dre, the godfather of modern Hip-Hop, was recently a guest on The Usual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell and was asked about the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef. Until now, Dr. Dre has remained silent on the issue but he says when Drake dragged Kendrick Lamar’s family into the battle that was enough and he sided with K-Dot.
Speaking about Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ record, Dr. Dre said “I love that record. I’ma say this on camera. I don’t want to get negative. My whole s—- is about being positive and moving forward and all that s—, but the fact I heard Drake say something negative about Kendrick’s wife and his kids, that made me say, ‘Ah, adios!’”
Here is Dr. Dre on camera speaking about the Kendrick Lamar-Drake beef which led to ‘Not Like Us’ and a consequent lawsuit from Drake against UMG:
Of course, all of this should have been obvious after Dr. Dre opened for Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ seven months ago:
As for Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show performance. It would be very odd if he didn’t perform ‘Not Like Us’ but at the same time it could complicated Drake’s lawsuit with UMG which is also Kendrick Lamar’s label.
Furthermore, the Louisiana lawmakers worried about past performances have already sought to sterilize the show. Saying “we realize that these past vulgar performances may have been acceptable to the residents of those states where those Super Bowls were held but, in Louisiana, these lewd acts are inappropriate for viewing by children, objectify women, and are simply NOT welcomed by the majority of Louisiana parents.”
According to reports, the set list for the Super Bowl Halftime show is finalized the Wednesday before the performance. It is not clear if that will be made publicly available ahead of time and I can’t recall a time in the past that it was. However, if that is the case then those on the inside know if Kendrick’s diss track against Drake will be performed in New Orleans but it remains unclear how that might impact Drake’s lawsuit against UMG.