Drake Files Defamation Suit Against UMG Over ‘Not Like Us’

Rapper Duck has changed its plan of attack against Universal Music Group, now going after the media conglomerate for defamation less than 12 hours after withdrawing an earlier petition.

The Canadian superstar has just filed a new lawsuit in New York, claiming that UMG’s promotion of Kendrick LamarThe mega-hit “Not Like Us” helped promote a “false and malicious narrative” that labels the “Best I Ever Had” singer a pedophile.

Drake and Lamar are currently signed to the parent label through subsidiaries Republic Records (Drake) and Interscope Records (Lamar).

In the complaint filed Wednesday morning, Drake accuses UMG of being more concerned with “corporate greed for the safety and well-being of its artists” by allowing the release of Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”

Via court documents, the artist, born Aubrey Drake Graham, claims that UMG “endorsed, released and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of ‘Not Like Us'” that was “intended to convey the allegation specific, indubitable and false fact”. that Drake is a criminal pedophile, and to suggest that the public should resort to vigilante justice in response.

Since the song’s release, there have been a slew of shootings near and around Drake’s Toronto home, including one in which a Drake bodyguard was injured.

Lamar released “Not Like Us” in May 2024 as the last of five responses to Drake in a long-running feud that resumed in March.

In his song, the “Humble” rapper alludes to past allegations against Drake regarding his close friendships with several young women, including “Stranger Things” star Millie Bobbie Brown.

Lamar also questions the Canadian artist’s position in black culture, making among other references to Drake in “Not Like Us” as a “fucking colonizer”.

In just a few days, the song became one of the biggest hits of 2024. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for two weeks, and number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs Chart, where it is stayed 20 weeks.

By The Hollywood Reportr, Lamar is not among the plaintiffs sued by Drake, although he is the sole lyricist of “Not Like Us.”

“[This suit is] entirely on UMG,” the court documents continue, “the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit and monetize allegations that it understood to be not only false, but dangerous.”

Drake’s new filing comes less than a day after he withdrew a previous petition against UMG and streaming app Spotify for engaging in illegal tactics aimed at “boosting” the numbers for “Not Like Us “.

First filed in November, the petition, considered a “pre-action” step and not legal action, claimed that UMG and Spotify “engaged in conduct intended to artificially inflate popularity from “Not Like Us”.

This included “licensing the song at significantly discounted rates to Spotify and using ‘bots’ to generate the false impression that the song was more popular than it actually was.”

UMG responded in a statement to Varietycalling Drake’s accusations baseless.

“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to harm one of its artists is offensive and false,” it reads. “We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can obscure the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.

Spotify would respond to Drake’s claims with a counterclaim in December, noting that they had “no economic incentive” to force users to stream “Not Like Us” more than they chose, and “would not never had an agreement in which UMG’ billed Spotify. licensing rates 30 percent lower than its usual licensing rates for “Not Like Us.”

In response, Drake’s legal team accused Spotify of trying to “distance itself” from UMG.

“If Spotify and UMG have nothing to hide, then they should fully comply with this basic discovery request,” they would add.

Drake and his company, Frozen Moments, would voluntarily withdraw their petition Tuesday evening “at no cost to either party.”

Although the feud between Drake and Lamar had been brewing for some time, it was Drake who caused things to escalate.

On May 3, 2024, he released the controversial track “Family Matters”, which featured accusations that Lamar had physically assaulted and cheated on his wife, and rumors that one of Lamar’s children was fathered by another man .

It was these dark allegations that prompted Lamar to record three songs in retaliation – “6:16 In LA,” “Meet the Grahams” and his final response, “Not Like Us.”