Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin met with The Breakfast Club Wednesday morning (August 14th) ahead of Fanatics Fest in New York City next weekend (August 16-18).
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During their conversation, co-host Loren LoRosa brought up the rumor that he banned Kendrick Lamar’s Billboard Hot 100-topping diss track “Not Like Us” from his annual all-white Fourth of July party because Drake was in attendance. “That’s true,” Rubin confirmed. “Drake has been my friend for a long time. I’m not going to invite him — and he’s obviously going through a bit of a crisis right now — I’m not going to invite him there… I just didn’t think it was appropriate.”
He added, “So I sent a message and said, ‘Hey, let’s not play the music of someone who’s in a fight with someone (at the party).'” LoRosa then pushed back a bit, asking if Drake had made the request. “That was my decision. I just thought it was the right thing to do,” he replied.
Rubin then mentioned that the song was actually played during a barbecue the day before while Spotify’s Rap Caviar playlist was playing in the background. He said he was rushing to get someone to press skip because Drake was on his way.
There has been a lot of speculation on social media about the Toronto rapper’s facial expressions in pictures, especially the following one.
However, Rubin dispelled those rumors, saying Drake “had a great time.” He then added, “Social media is something you have to be built for; you have to be tough, you have to take sh*t from people… Drake is an iconic artist that we all have tremendous respect for. What I said to Drake – and I honestly believe this – is that this is a huge test for him. You can’t get to where he is without people rooting for you.”
You can view the full Breakfast Club Interview here.
Fanatics Fest takes place this Friday at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC. Tickets are available here.
