Drake’s feud with Universal Music Group simply escalated to DEFCON 1. The Toronto rapper has filed his second lawsuit in opposition to the music large, together with his lawyer having beforehand dropped allegations that UMG engaged in a “pay-to-play” scheme with iHeartRadio to spice up Kendrick Lamar’s “false song” “Not Like Us” on the airwaves.
Yes, second lawsuit — this time alleging defamation. The first, filed on Monday to the New York State Supreme Court, claimed the label engaged in a scheme with Spotify, allegedly manipulating the platform with the intention to artificially inflate the recognition of “Not Like Us,” an allegation that would supply an alternate clarification for the track’s success moreover music followers merely loving it. Lamar’s observe is a dancey, anthemic rap track, nevertheless it’s additionally a diss observe that instantly throws pictures at Drake, together with lyrics that accuse the “Certified Lover Boy” of harboring sexual predators in his entourage, and going as far as to label them “certified pedophiles.”
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Heavy stuff, and it’s hit more durable than anybody might’ve predicted. “Not Like Us” has turn out to be a cultural juggernaut, reaching a record-breaking tenure on the high of the Billboard rap chart, two separate peaks because the primary U.S. track on any chart, over 900 million Spotify streams on the time of this writing. The observe has even been nominated for 5 Grammy awards as nicely (considered one of which is for the observe’s producer, not Lamar).
A spokesperson for Universal Music Group has vehemently denied the allegations, calling them “offensive and untrue.” The assertion went on to assert, “No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”
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Spotify, in the meantime, has declined to remark, regardless of a number of shops reaching out for a response.
Drake’s Monday submitting stops wanting a full authorized grievance. Instead, it’s a petition that would escalate right into a lawsuit, with key figures from UMG and iHeartRadio anticipated to face depositions as Drake’s authorized crew seeks to collect proof.
UMG has a deal to license Drake’s music releases beneath its Republic label alongside releases from Drake’s personal Canadian label OVO Sound. According to Drake’s attorneys, there is “more than enough evidence” that UMG did not take any motion to stop Lamar from defaming him on “Not Like Us.” They argue this lack of intervention is notably vital on condition that Lamar is signed to Interscope, which, like Republic, is beneath the very massive UMG umbrella.
The filings on Monday and Tuesday come simply days after Lamar launched his shock album GNX, which The Ringer’s Charles Homles calls “a 45-minute treatise on the power of rolling up to your biggest hater’s funeral to ensure they’ve departed this mortal coil.”
Curiously, Lamar himself has not been named in any of the lawsuits. However, the filings argue that UMG confirmed favoritism for financial achieve between two artists signed beneath Universal on the expense of Drake’s fame.
