Kendrick Lamar is about to find out if his smash hit "Not Like Us" is as popular with NFL and network lawyers and execs as it is with the public -- and his Super Bowl Halftime Show hangs in the balance.
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00:00a little news conference down in New Orleans today and maybe the only time that Drake would
00:06want to watch a pre-Super Bowl news conference because...
00:10He wants to find out, is Kendrick going to do the obvious, which he's going to do, right?
00:14I will say this, if Drake wasn't watching it, his lawyers definitely were because they're
00:19watching the Super Bowl very closely.
00:23They've said in this defamation lawsuit they filed that they feel like Universal Music
00:28Group colluded with the NFL and Roc Nation to get Kendrick on the Super Bowl halftime
00:34stage where he could perform Not Like Us and inflict the most pain and injury to Drake's
00:41reputation by singing Not Like Us.
00:44Singing a particular verse.
00:45And singing the certified pedophile line.
00:48So look, he's definitely going to do the song.
00:52Definitely.
00:53And when he started the news conference, I think he tipped his hand.
00:56If anybody had any doubt, he's going to play it.
00:59Please welcome Kendrick Lamar.
01:02Y'all got to make some more noise than that.
01:10Now, of course, he didn't actually do any of the rap there.
01:13You got to wait until Sunday for that.
01:16They didn't play the part of the song.
01:18They just did instrumental.
01:20And I think, let's be honest, this is all for television.
01:24This is theater.
01:26They don't want to give away whether he's good.
01:28And they didn't give it away.
01:29But I will say this.
01:30I've spoken to people connected to the NFL, people connected to Kendrick, and they're
01:38expecting he is going to do the song and he is going to do those lines.
01:43Absolutely.
01:44He did it at the Grammys.
01:45And he even said during the news conference, well, he didn't perform in the Grammys.
01:49No, but they played it at the Grammys.
01:50They played it.
01:51CBS did.
01:52Isn't this so risky though?
01:53I mean.
01:54Is it?
01:56No, Drake is obviously willing to sue.
01:58A hundred and thirty-ish million people are going to watch this game.
02:01Is that a problem, really, that Fox wants?
02:05I think it's a PR lawsuit.
02:06He didn't file a lawsuit.
02:08When he filed that suit, he did not sue Kendrick.
02:10So if you're Kendrick, you say, look, he didn't sue me when I put the song out.
02:14Well, no, no, you're right.
02:15But the question is, will Fox bleep it if he does it?
02:17So the steps here.
02:20He's going to do the song.
02:21Right.
02:22He's going to sing the lyrics.
02:23Absolutely.
02:24The decision falls on Fox and the NFL as to whether or not they censor it at all.
02:31Do they have pressure now that CBS went out and did it?
02:35Mm-hmm.
02:36CBS played, not only played it, he slow played himself when he walked up on stage so that
02:40you could hear that verse.
02:42The only difference between the Grammys and the Super Bowl is that ten times more people
02:46are going to be watching the Super Bowl.
02:48Right.
02:49At minimum.
02:50And look, yesterday, here, the way this works for every Super Bowl halftime, by the way,
02:56the performer on the Wednesday before the game delivers all of their lyrics to the network
03:03and to the league.
03:04And then the lawyers all get in a room.
03:06They pour over all the lyrics to see if there's anything that, but you're right, in this case.
03:11This is where you and I disagree.
03:12No, no, no.
03:13They made the.
03:14I'm just telling you what they do.
03:15What they normally do.
03:16And that's what they did yesterday.
03:17I know that for a fact.
03:18I've spoken to people in New Orleans.
03:20But wait a minute.
03:21Hold on.
03:22Can I please get my.
03:23Do it.
03:24Get it out.
03:25Do it.
03:26So they go over all the lyrics.
03:27Now, you are right.
03:28They knew about this lyric heading in.
03:30What they didn't know is for sure whether he was going to do it.
03:33They now know he's going to do it.
03:35So now they have to decide what are they going to do?
03:39And I can't tell you what the lawyers have decided yet at this point.
03:44But there is some risk.
03:47And I know you're acting like there is no risk.
03:49No, no, no.
03:50I'm not acting like there is no risk.
03:51What I'm what I disagree with you on is I know they may have had a meeting yesterday.
03:55They made this decision a long time.
03:56I will tell you when they actually.
03:58I will tell you.
03:59They actually invited him.
04:00OK, they didn't because it wasn't an issue when they invited him.
04:04Well, after.
04:05OK, after the lawsuit.
04:06When the lawsuit was filed.
04:07I will tell you this, that when the lawsuit was filed, it was not even on the radar.
04:11They weren't thinking about it until they read our story about the lawsuit.
04:17And then they started hand wringing about what are we going to do?
04:20What are we going to do?
04:21I get it.
04:22But at that moment, when they when he sues Universal, they've got to sit down and say
04:27I don't think that lawyers take the temperature over what's happened, that what happened at
04:32the Grammys doesn't know into their decision.
04:35I'll tell you why not.
04:36I'll tell you why not.
04:37A, he could still sue the Grammy.
04:38He could still sue CBS.
04:39Absolutely.
04:40That's number one.
04:41Right.
04:42I mean, it does.
04:43You know, if CBS does it, Fox may say they're just off a cliff now and they're going to
04:48get sued.
04:49And we're we're lawsuit averse and we're not going to do it.
04:51Right.
04:52I think they've calculated this and they've got a plan.
04:55If he says that if he plays that lyric or sings it, even if he says he won't, if he
05:00does, which he could, they're going to hit that button or not.
05:03Right.
05:04I think they've talked about that as soon as the Universal lawsuit.
05:06And they're both, by the way, the NFL has someone with a finger on a button and then
05:11Fox has someone with a finger on the button.
05:14So does one cancel the other out if they push it at the same time?
05:18There's like a three second difference.
05:20So there's the delay.
05:23No, I don't think they will cancel each other out.