Drake may have lost the rap battle against Kendrick Lamar, but he refuses to let the false narrative continue. The Canadian-born rapper’s image suffered immensely in 2024 after his rival released Not Like Us. The song painted Drake as an alleged pedophile, a claim that sparked many memes and jokes at his expense.
Instead of dragging Lamar to court, the Toosie Slide hitmaker filed a complaint against Universal Music Group. He sued his label for defamation on Wednesday morning at the federal court in NYC. Drake claimed UMG intentionally promoted the diss track despite knowing it was filled with “inflammatory and shocking allegations.”
The rapper believed UMG spread the “false and malicious narrative” of him being a pedophile to undermine his career. By promoting Lamar’s song, the label could devalue Drake’s music and brand. Therefore giving them leverage in future contract negotiations with the rapper, per his claims. He supported his argument with receipts of underhanded deals.
Drake claimed UMG paid a third party to use bots to increase the diss track’s streams by at least 30 million. Additionally, the label participated in a “pay for play” scheme with at least one radio promoter. His allegations against the music organization continued with more plots to spread the pedophile narrative, per TMZ.
Drake Slams His Label for Getting Kendrick Lamar Into the Super Bowl Halftime Show
According to Drake, UMG attached the label “chart-topper” to Lamar’s song to reach a larger audience. Their ploy to spread the false narrative about his romantic interests continued by securing his rival’s Super Bowl performance. He believed they played a significant role in Lamar’s upcoming halftime show gig.
Drake described the NFL show as “one of the most significant (and viewed) cultural events of the year.” He argued that UMG got Lamar the gig to get Not Like Us performed on a massive stage. He doubled down on the diss track’s negative impacts on his image with claims of multiple shootings since it dropped.
The Hotline Bling rapper noted shots had been fired at or near his Toronto mansion. The situation was so bad that one of his security guards ended up getting shot. On that note, he blamed UMG for intentionally promoting a song they knew contained fraudulent claims. He also reiterated that his beef was with his label and not Lamar, writing:
“This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us.’ It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize allegations that it understood were not only false but dangerous.”
Drake initially filed a complaint against UMG last November in a NYC state court. However, sources claimed he dropped the legal action against them to clear the way for his federal defamation case. At the time, many slammed his decision to sue the label, like sports commentator Stephen A. Smith.
We covered the media personality’s reaction to Drake’s first lawsuit last December, noting he condemned the legal move. Smith described the rapper’s response as a poor representation of Hip-Hop, saying: “You take it to the studio. You take it to the streets.” Will other celebrities criticize Drake’s new federal case or support him?
