No, Drake Did Not Send ‘Not Like Us’ Cease and Desist to Kendrick Lamar

Fans clamoring to see Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX performance can rest assured that there’s no “Not Like Us” cease or desist happening. Music manager Wack 100 went viral over the weekend accusing Drake of sending a cease and desist letter to Kendrick Lamar, but Drake’s rep tells Rolling Stone that the rumor is “not true,” with another source clarifying that “there was never any intention or plan to send a cease and desist to anyone.” 

This weekend, in a chatroom on the Clubhouse app, Wack claimed, “[Drake] served a cease-and-desist [to] Kendrick Lamar so he can’t perform ‘Not Like Us,’” in an exchange with another Clubhouse user, surmising “He’s trying to get the NFL to restrict Kendrick.” Wack also theorized that Jay-Z would push back on any hypothetical cease and desist. His comments were widely shared online, with rap fans speculating their merit.

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The moment harkens to Kendrick’s “Euphoria” accusation that Drake sent a cease and desist to Republic Records for Future, Metro-Boomin, and Kendrick Lamar’s “Like That” record, the We Don’t Trust You single that ignited their May war of words. Kendrick rapped: “Try cease and desist on the ‘Like That’ record/Oh, what? You ain’t like that record?/‘Back to Back,’ I like that record/I’m gonna get back to that for the record.” Drake replied on his “Family Matters” diss, rhyming, “A cease-and-desist is for hoes/Can’t listen to lies that come out of your mouth.” The Toronto artist also levied a counterpoint: “You called the 2Pac Estate/And begged ’em to sue me and get that shit down,” referring to his “Taylor Made” track which uses AI replication of Tupac’s vocals.  

After the Shakur estate sent a cease and desist to Drake, called “Taylor Made” a “blatant abuse” of Tupac’s likeness and threatened to sue, the song was taken down from his Instagram page.