Happy Monday, I’m Eriq Gardner.

Welcome back to The Rainmaker, a private email about money, power, fame, and the law—basically, everything you need to know before starting a rap beef.

In this week’s edition, is it really illegal to impersonate a YouTube executive? Thanks to the impending Carlos Watson trial, we’re about to find out. Plus, the $4 billion Ryan Kavanaugh merger nobody is talking about, the lawyers going nuclear on Clare Locke, Shari Redstone’s Rhode Island problem, Rob Gronkowski vs. Mark Cuban, Amazon quietly suing a screenwriter, and finally, could Kendrick Lamar’s rap battle with Drake wind up in court?

Programming note: This Thursday at 3 p.m. ET, I’ll be doing an Inner Circle call to break down the latest twists in the Donald Trump hush money trial. Want to join? Upgrade your membership if you haven’t already, and email Fritz@puck.news to RSVP.

P.S. If this email somehow found its way to you, sign up here to continue receiving this newsletter. Or, better yet, subscribe to Puck.

Let’s get started…

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