Drake has filed a federal defamation lawsuit over rival Kendrick Lamar’s diss track Not Like Us.
The Canadian rapper, 38, sued Universal Music Group for spreading the ‘false and malicious narrative’ that he is a pedophile, TMZ reported Wednesday.
Drake says in court documents that UMG knew Lamar’s diss track would include lyrics and images in a music video that referred to him as a pedophile.
He accuses UMG of allowing the ‘inflammatory and shocking allegations’ because the song was a ‘gold mine’ for the company.
The rapper claims UMG did everything to promote Not Like Us because they knew it would devalue Drake’s music and give them leverage in future contract negotiations.
According to the lawsuit, UMG paid a third party to use bots to increase the song’s streams by at least 30million.
The company also allegedly engaged in a ‘pay for play’ scheme with at least one radio promoter and assigned the track as a ‘chart-topper’ based on fraudulent data.
Drake has filed a defamation lawsuit over rival Kendrick Lamar’s diss track Not Like Us
Drake says in court documents that UMG knew Lamar’s diss track would include lyrics and images in a music video that referred to him as a pedophile
It comes as Kendrick is preparing to perform at the Super Bowl in New Orleans next month.
Drake mentions the performance in the lawsuit, claiming UMG was in on getting Kendrick the gig so the song could be platformed on ‘one of the most significant (and viewed) cultural events of the year.’
The lawsuit also makes a point of stating it is not against Kendrick himself.
‘This lawsuit is not about the artist who created Not Like Us,’ the suit states.
‘It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize’ a song that contained false claims.
Drake also said the song put him in danger, citing the multiple shootings near or at his Toronto mansion since it was released.
Not Like Us broke several chart records after spending 21 weeks on top of the Billboard Hot Rap songs chart, and enjoying 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart – where it reached number one twice.
It has hit over 914 millions plays on Spotify while it is tied for third place on the Rap Streaming Songs chart.
The rapper had already filed a lawsuit against UMG and Spotify in New York state court but he withdrew that to file a federal case instead.
After the state case was filed, UMG told DailyMail.com: ‘The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. 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 mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.’
Drake and Kendrick, arguably two of the world’s biggest hip-hop voices, have been embroiled in a furious rivalry for years.
Over a decade ago, the pair collaborated on a few songs, but that didn’t last very long. In 2013, Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick was featured on Big Sean’s Control, in which he called out a slew of contemporary rappers including Drake, J. Cole, Meek Mill, Pusha T, A$AP Rocky, Big K.R.I.T., Wale, Pusha T and even Big Sean among them.
The feud entered new territory in May, 2024, when Kendrick, 36, made some serious accusations on Not Like Us, which was released shortly after Drake dropped Meet The Grahams – another diss track.
In the song, Kendrick appears to accuse Drake of being a pedophile, along with another member of his crew – Drake quickly responded by releasing The Heart Part 6 where he rapped that he’s ‘never been with no one underage’.
