Source: Boston Globe / Getty
The world of Hip-Hop and sports meet again.
Both are rooted in competition, and now the rap beef that’s dominated public opinion for most of the year has made it to Inside The NBA with hosts Ernie Johnson, with commentary supplied by Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal.
Every NBA fan knows the true gems are the pre-game and halftime game coverage, and the crew didn’t disappoint during Tuesday night’s NBA Cup game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns when they discussed the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef.
On his newly released album GNX, he yelled “MUSTAAARD” over the beat as a shoutout to frequent fellow West Coast collaborator DJ Mustard, who’s produced plenty of his beats.
https://twitter.com/gifdsports/status/1861627296118911176
Now, the word has become an online meme, and Shaq decided to yell “MUSTAAARD” as the “TV Off” beat played in the background.
Guest cohost Jalen Rose –who was in for Smith– slid in a dig at Drake, quipping, “I don’t know if y’all should be playing that Kendrick. You don’t wanna get a lawsuit up in here.”
Johnson then jumped in, adding, “Lawsuits don’t scare us around here.”
Rose is referencing the potential lawsuits that Drake has threatened his label, UMG, with over the past few days.
First, he accused them of conspiring with Spotify to suppress his diss tracks by conflating the success of Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” with bots lowering the licensing fee of the song by 33% and even playing it when Apple Users asked Siri to play Certified Lover Album.
Then, a day later, he filed another action against UMG, accusing them of defamation, claiming they should have halted the song because it “falsely accuses him of being a sex offender.”
Neither action is a lawsuit yet, but it sets Drake’s legal team on a path to getting depositions from the opposition and gaining enough evidence to lead to a trial eventually.
See how social media reacted to Drake’s litigation below.
