Shaky
Warrior
(Photo
by
Cole
Burston/Getty
Images)
Rap
lyrics
are
treated
differently
than
other
genres
when
it
comes
to
facing
legal
consequences.
Even
when
things
are
stated
in
the
starkest
of
terms,
there’s
a
degree
of
artistic
license
that
is
assumed.
Gerard
Way
and
the
rest
of
My
Chemical
Romance
didn’t
get
any
unexpected
wellness
checks
or
the
like
after
their
repeated
performances
of
“I’m
Not
Okay
(I
Promise).”
Nor
did
Paul
McCartney
or
Ringo
Starr
get
charged
with
threatening
a
minor
for
the
line
“I’d
rather
see
you
dead,
little
girl
/
Than
to
be
with
another
man”
on
the
song
“Run
For
Your
Life.”
Taylor
Swift
has
written
several
songs
about
her
exes
and
hasn’t
been
dragged
to
court
over
aired
laundry.
And
yet,
Zohran
Mamdani
risks
being
denaturalized
over
rap
lyrics
from
nearly
a
decade
ago.
If
only
Young
Cardamom
was
a
Country
act.
After
getting
musically
beaten,
curbstomped,
and
victory
lapped
by
Kendrick
Lamar,
Aubrey
Graham
is
leaning
on
legal
in
a
last
ditch
effort
to
fake
influence
and
win
a
rap
battle.
Drake
has
pointed
the
blame
at
Universal
Music
Group,
Spotify,
miscellaneous
YouTube
streamers
—
hell,
everyone
but
Kendrick
Lamar
—
arguing
that
the
rap
battle
tipped
over
into
defamation
when
Lamar
accused
Drake
of
being
a
pedophile.
In
what
is
the
legal
equivalent
of
responding
“boo
hoo,”
UMG
is
moving
to
dismiss
the
suit.
Law360
has
coverage:
Universal
Music
Group on
Monday
urged
a
New
York
federal
judge
to
dismiss
a
defamation
suit
from
hip-hop
star
Drake
against
the
record
label
over
the
hit
dis
track
“Not
Like
Us”
by
his
rival
Kendrick
Lamar,
casting
Lamar’s
lyrics
as
opinion
and
hyperbole.
…
At
a
hearing
Monday
afternoon
before
U.S.
District
Judge
Jeannette
Vargas,
an
attorney
for
UMG,
Rollin
Ransom
of Sidley
Austin
LLP,
argued
that
the
context
surrounding
Lamar’s
statements
is
key,
because
contextual
analysis
often
determines
whether
statements
are
asserted
as
fact
or
opinion.“What
you
hear
in
these
rap
battles
is
trash
talking
to
the
extreme,
and
should
not
be
treated
as
statements
of
fact,”
Ransom
said.
Part
of
the
dispute
hinges
on
Kendrick
using
the
phrase
“certified
pedophiles”
in
the
song
“Not
Like
Us.”
The
judge
showed
some
concern
that
the
qualifier
certified
could
be
read
as
Kendrick
saying
that
Drake
was
officially
proven
to
be
a
pedophile.
Ransom
responded
that
an
ordinary
listener
should
have
enough
context
to
listen
to
the
song
and
not
read
the
certified
bit
as
a
foregone
legal
conclusion.
I
think
that
he’s
right.
Drake
has
referred
to
himself
as
a
“certified
lover
boy”–
he
dropped
an
album
with
the
same
name
in
2021
—
it
just
seems
like
Kendrick
was
flipping
the
word
certified.
Rappers
do
lyric
flips
all
the
time.
What’s
next,
holding
a
rapper
civilly
liable
for
a
double
entendre?
The
judge
has
yet
to
rule
on
the
case.
Would
be
nice
if
this
case
was
wrapped
up
so
we
could
all
listen
to
the
new
Clipse
album
without
worrying
that
it,
too,
will
become
evidence
in
a
Drake
lawsuit.
UMG
Says
Drake
Insults
Are
Just
Trash
Talk,
Not
Defamation
[Law360]
Earlier:
Drake’s
Attempt
To
Parlay
Rap
Battle
Loss
Into
Courtroom
Success
Results
In
Another
Loss
I
Don’t
Think
People
Understand
How
Silly
It
Is
To
Use
Song
Lyrics
As
Evidence
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, is
interested
in
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected]
and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.