Just when fans thought Drake was ready to bury the hatchet with Universal Music Group and Spotify, he filed a new federal defamation lawsuit. Here are some of the most interesting claims in his latest legal action.
The “Scorpion” performer accused the label and label of promoting Kendrick Lamar’s now-infamous diss track “Not Like Us” and spreading a “false and malicious narrative.” Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the 81-page suit alleges UMG used unlawful tactics to boost the track’s popularity. One of the most interesting means of promotion used by several Youtubers, Drake declared.
He says UMG enabled content creators with massive followings such as Kai Cenat, Zias, NoLifeShaq, RDC Gaming, and CartierFamily to monetize reactions to “Not Like Us” without executing copyright strikes. Drizzy explains that the lack of enforcement enabled the spread of defamatory messaging toward him while generating profits for both the label and the creators.
Drake alleges in the lawsuit that UMG permitted content creators such as Kai Cenat, Zias, NoLifeShaq, RDC Gaming, and CartierFamily to monetize reactions to “Not Like Us” without enforcing copyright claims. He claims this lack of enforcement enabled the spread of defamatory… pic.twitter.com/FZzip1QrTf
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) January 15, 2025
As mentioned in his previous legal filing against UMG and Spotify, Drake pointed out that Lamar referred to him as a “Certified pedophile” and “predator.” The 38-year-old took issue with his Toronto home being depicted on the cover art with “icons that are known to be used by law enforcement to identify child sex offenders’ residences online.”
Drake’s new lawsuit against UMG over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”:
“It was just three days after UMG originally published the Recording and Image that Drake was targeted at his Toronto house by armed intruders in the 2024 equivalent of ‘Pizzagate.'”https://t.co/EVhVle8tsx pic.twitter.com/fMwDvoWQLp
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) January 15, 2025
Another key factor in this filing is that the false lyrics about him being a pedophile incited violence at his home, leading to his property being shot up on May 7th, 2024. A gunman reportedly yelled, “F**k Drake” before firing, striking his security guard. In the days that followed, there were two other break-in attempts, which were throated by security guards. The rap star believes this was a direct result of the song, which was released on May 4th.
While Drizzy has previously accused the label of using bots to inflate Lamar’s streams, he now says he obtained receipts proving this was done to gain at least 30 million additional streams for the record.
UMG responded, calling Drake’s new lawsuit “frivolous” and “illogical.” The company says the rapper is trying to “weaponize the legal process” to silence Lamar’s “creative expression.”
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