Drake’s war with Universal Music Group just got messier.
In a new court filing, UMG is asking a judge to toss the rapper’s defamation lawsuit, calling it nothing more than a salty response to Kendrick Lamar’s big win in their rap beef.
Drake recently updated his lawsuit with new claims, pointing to Kendrick’s Super Bowl performance as more “evidence” that he’s being targeted. He believes the performance adds to what he says is a public smear campaign against him, specifically referencing the “certified pedophiles” lyric from Lamar’s diss track.
UMG clapped back. “As Drake concedes, Lamar’s Super Bowl performance did not include the lyric that Drake or his associates are ‘certified pedophiles,’” the label stated, making it clear they think Drake is reaching.
The label also accuses Drake of using the lawsuit to tear down Kendrick’s moment, not defend his name. “The focus of Drake’s new claims…betrays this case for what it is: Drake’s attack on the commercial and creative success of the rap artist who defeated him.”
And they didn’t stop there. UMG straight-up called Drake a hypocrite. “Nowhere in the hundred-plus page ‘legal’ blather written by Drake’s lawyers do they bother to acknowledge that Drake himself has written and performed massively successful songs containing equally provocative taunts,” the filing reads.
As for Drake’s legal team digging for conspiracies? UMG says there’s nothing to find. “Drake’s lawyers can also keep seeking to ‘uncover’ evidence of wild conspiracies…but there is nothing to ‘uncover.’”
Despite all this, UMG says they’re still backing Drake’s career. “Despite his lawyers’ attempts to silence other artists and threaten the companies that work with them, we remain committed to propelling Drake’s career… Drake’s included.”
Whether he’s protecting his image or just butt hurt about taking an L, the courtroom isn’t exactly where fans expected this rap beef to end up.
