Forever Drake Live

[Serafin Sonnier]

At the top of the show, Drake acknowledged his teen acting days as Jimmy Brooks in Degrassi: The Next Generation by wearing a jersey with the show's title on the front and his character's name on the back. It was a not-so-subtle reminder that his iconic role will forever live in millennials' hearts.

During the show, the Thank Me Later rapper called out record labels for rejecting him at the beginning of his music career. According to Drake, many labels had a hard time taking him seriously following his stint in Degrassi: The Next Generation. The Toronto native also believes he was doubted because he hails from Canada. "Canadians can make music," he quipped. For someone with four Grammys and a reported net worth of $150+ million, it may be time to let that chip go.

Drake's nostalgic set at the Apollo included a bed and notebook filled with old rap lyrics. He reflected on times spent sleeping in a basement while dreaming of making a name for himself in the music industry. His stage outfits were also reminiscent of early 2000s fashion, with slick braids, an oversized jersey, a gold chain, baggy jeans, all-white Nike Air Force 1 sneakers, and conspicuous diamond earrings. I mean, does it get any more early 2000s than that?

In 2021, Drake released his sixth studio album, Certified Lover Boy and it's clear he doesn't take the title lightly. Throughout his set, Drizzy swooned his devoted fans with songs like "Hold On, We're Going Home," "Controlla," and "Passionfruit." He closed out the show by serenading the audience with his own version of Ginuwine's "So Anxious." The moment was fitting, considering that he previously sampled the R&B track for his 2015 song, "Legend."

In the middle of one performance, Drake pointed out a mini-altercation that broke out between fans. "I've never seen somebody fight and apologize for it," he joked. It was one of the few glimpses of his biting sense of humor that I wish we'd seen more of during his set.

"I got more slaps than the Beatles," Drake proclaims in the 2019 song "Going Bad." Fun fact: it's true, and it was evident at the Apollo Theater as he ran through his catalog of hits, including Billboard chart-toppers like "Best I Ever Had," "Started From the Bottom," and "God's Plan." And if the earthquake-like ground shakes were any indication, the crowd loved every second of it, too.

The energy in the building went, to quote Drake, "zero to 100" when 21 Savage arrived on stage to perform songs from their latest project, Her Loss. The synergy between the two rappers is truly one to witness. Drake even referred to 21 as his "favorite rapper on planet earth," and hinted at a joint tour this summer. Sidebar, I'd be lying if I said I didn't chuckle during their performance of "Rich Flex." If you haven't seen the TikTok memes, you're missing out.

It's one thing to hear an artist singing on wax, but it's another thing to hear them singing live. As an equal part rapper and singer, Drake was surprisingly pitchy while performing his more melodic tunes like "Marvin's Room." However, he hit his stride when he fully embraced autotune for songs like "Calling My Name." Hey, no one said he could be good at everything.

Although I wasn't in the front row, there were several performances where it was extremely difficult to see anything besides a silhouette of the Grammy Award winner. I spoke to a fan outside of the venue who was up close, and they too were disappointed with the lack of visibility due to the lighting. Better luck next time.

The Diplomats, also known as Dipset to every New Yorker, made a surprise appearance that was a true highlight of the show. Set against the backdrop of a bodega in Harlem, Cam'ron, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, and Freekey Zekey hit the stage to remind anyone who may have forgotten exactly why they are considered hip-hop legends.

As previously mentioned, the voracious crowd had the floors inside the Apollo Theater literally shaking. I couldn't help but wonder, what are Drake stans called? A quick Google search reminded me that they're known as Team Drizzy. In between recording footage to flex for the 'gram, Team Drizzy sang along to every word. At the end of the night, Drake returned the love, saying that he has "deep love" for them, too.

Robyn Lynne Drake (nee: Unger), a beacon of love and the family's cherished "glue," passed away peacefully at Evelyn's House on June 14, 2024, at the age of 60. Born in Saint Louis on December 24, 1963.
Robyn's infectious spirit and ability to keep everyone together were legendary. She was a master at coordinating dates and schedules, ensuring that no birthday, anniversary, or special occasion was ever overlooked. She was everyone's friend, touching lives with her warm smile and open heart. Robyn's love story with her devoted husband, Donal Drake, blossomed into marriage on June 22, 2011, and together they shared a passion for life that was truly inspiring.

A fun-loving person, Robyn embraced a variety of hobbies. Camping trips were a favorite, providing cherished memories and stories that her family will hold dear forever. Her joy was most evident at Ryan's property, a place of laughter and togetherness. A true fan of NASCAR races.

Robyn's legacy is one of love and enduring friendships. Her loving nature a comfort to all who knew her, and her adventurous spirit an inspiration. Her grandchildren, the light of her life, will forever cherish the moments spent in the embrace of their beloved grandmother, whose love knew no bounds.

In the hearts of those who loved her, Robyn Lynne Drake will always be remembered for her ability to bring joy and unity to her family and friends. Her laughter, and her zest for life will continue to be shared in the stories and the memories treasured. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

Despite the Supreme Court's ruling in Iancu v. Brunetti, deeming the"scandalous and immoral" provision of Section 2(a)unconstitutional, your run-of-the mill obscenities are going toface a difficult hurdle to registration: failure-to-function. Mr.Brunetti himself found that out last year when his attempt toregister "FUCK" failed to clear that hurdle.[TTABlogged here]. Kirill's Big Brain, LLC met thesame fate in its attempt to register ASSHOLES LIVEFOREVER for a potpourri of goods in 14 classes, includingair fragrance preparations, jewelry, clothing, and bath mats. Theevidence submitted by Examining Attorney Jacob Vigil showed"wide-spread third-party use of the proposed mark generally asan expression and in an ornamental manner on goods the same as andsimilar to those identified in the involved application."In re Kirill's Big Brain, LLC, SerialNo. 90033810 (January 6, 2022) [not precedential] (Opinion by JudgeChristen M. English).

Relying on a string of TTAB precedents, the Board observed thatinformational matter fails to function as a trademark if itcomprises a common term or phrase that consumers are accustomed tosee in use by various sources to convey ordinary, familiar, orgenerally understood concepts or sentiments, rather than serving asa source indicator. The key question is, of course, how theconsumer perceives the proposed mark.

The Examining Attorney provided more than 30 examples ofthird-party use of the phrase ASSHOLES LIVE FOREVER on such itemsas clothing, home dcor, stickers, cell phone cases,drinking glasses, bottles, and mugs. The record also included useof the phrase other than in connection with goods included in thesubject application: for example, media articles, social mediaposts, and podcasts.

Applicant Kirill's challenged the very nature of thefailure-to-function refusal, contending that it is "paying theprice for an unintended but arguably unfair overzealous applicationof flawed analysis." The Board, however, rejected the argumentthat the failute-to-function refusal is arbitrary or unfair. As itrecently explained in the "FUCK" case:

Turning to the substance of the refusal, the Board observed thatKirill's prominently displays the proposed mark as an"adornment on many of the identified goods. "Theplacement, size, and dominance of the expression ASSHOLES LIVEFOREVER on Applicant's goods is consistent with conveying acommon sentiment rather than signifying a brand or indicating asource." The Board acknowledged that Kirill's uses thephrase in a trademark manner on some of its specimens of use, butthat alone does not negate the failure-to-function refusal.

The Board concluded that the Examining Attorney established"a reasonable predicate, i.e., a prima facie case, thatASSHOLES LIVE FOREVER is a widely used message that consumers areaccustomed to seeing displayed in a non-source identifying manneron a number of different goods such that the proposed mark fails toserve a source-identifying function for Applicant'sgoods."

Skirill's argued that the refusal is improper becauseASSHOLES LIVE FOREVER does not convey information, but the Boardpointed out that "merely informational matter" includes'widely-used common place terms and expressions' regardlessof the specific nature of the message conveyed.""[W]idespread use of a term or phrase may be enough to renderit incapable of functioning as a trademark, regardless of the typeof message."

Skirill's further argued that the third-party uses areirrelevant because they post-date its first use of the mark, andthus those uses constitute infringement of Skirill's mark. TheBoard, however, found Skirill's evidence to be insufficient:"we find that Applicant has not proven that it made prominentuse of its mark before the third-party uses arose such that we canconclude the third-parties are infringers and did not independentlyadopt the use of 'assholes live forever' or adopted thephrase to tread on any trademark rights of Applicant."Moreover, there was no evidence that Skirill's made any effortto police its purported mark. "Without such evidence, we mustpresume that the third party uses are still in the marketplace andare part of the environment in which relevant consumers willencounter Applicant's mark."

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