Drake sues Universal for defamation over Kendrick Lamar song
Just one day after dropping a legal petition against Spotify and Universal Music Group, Drake has filed a new lawsuit against the latter for defamation.
Drake is officially suing Universal Music Group (UMG) months after accusing the company of conspiring with Spotify to inflate the success of Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us'.
On Wednesday, the five-time Grammy Award winner's legal team filed a defamation lawsuit against UMG in New York City. The new suit accuses UMG of defamation and harassment for publishing and promoting content that "falsely accuses Drake of being a pedophile".
The lawsuit further claims the record label prioritised “corporate greed over the safety and wellbeing of its artists”.
UMG, which distributes both Drake and Lamar's music, has called the Canadian rapper's lawsuit "illogical".
“Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist – let alone Drake – is illogical. We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success," UMG said in a statement as reported by Variety.
Drake and Lamar had a rap beef in 2024 that saw the pair hurl shocking insults at each other. In 'Not Like Us', Kendrick insinuated that Drake has a thing for young women.
"Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles/ Wop, wop, wop, wop, wop, Dot, f**k 'em up/ Wop, wop, wop, wop, wop, I'ma do my stuff/ Why you trollin' like a b***h? Ain't you tired?/ Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A minor," he rapped on the track.
Drake also fired shots at Lamar, seemingly accusing him of being a cheater and beating his fiancée Whitney Alford in 'Family Matters'.
Read more about how their beef got out of hand here: Drake vs Kendrick Lamar: Rap beef escalates
The pair previously had an amicable relationship with Drake, even appearing in Lamar's 2012 song, 'Poetic Justice'. Things started to turn sour in 2013 and went downhill from there.
UMG pointed out that Drake has been involved in "outrageous" rap battles in the past.
"Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings about other artists. He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music. "
Drake also blames the release of 'Not Like Us' for the break-in attempts and shooting incident that took place at his Toronto mansion last year.
He says he feared for his family's safety and even removed his son Adonis from school. Lamar's upcoming NFL Super Bowl halftime show also got a mention.
The 'Humble' hitmaker is set to perform in New Orleans on February 9. Drake says UMG “made significant financial investments and leveraged its professional connections” to help ensure that Lamar performs at the Super Bowl.
Fans are now convinced that Drake will stop Lamar from performing the smash hit at the game to avoid further humiliation. More than 123 million people watched last year's Super Bowl.
Despite allegedly being told he "would face humiliation if he brought legal action", Drake is moving full steam ahead with his lawsuit.
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Main image credit: Instagram/@champagnepapi, @kendricklamar ('GNX' album cover art, photographer Dave Free)