Drake Files Defamation Suit Against UMG Over Kendrick Dis Track

Drake filed a defamation suit against Universal Music Group, the parent label to which he and Kendrick Lamar are signed.

Drake filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday and called the release of Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” aimed at the Canadian rapper, an example of valorizing “corporate greed over safety and good -be one of their artists”. In the song, Lamar calls Drake a pedophile and accuses him of appropriating black culture.

Drake is signed to UMG subsidiary Republic Records, while Lamar is signed to UMG’s Interscope Records. The new lawsuit claims that UMG “approved, released, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap song” that was “intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile, and to suggest that the public should resort to vigilante justice in response.

“UMG intentionally sought to make Drake a pariah, a target for harassment, or worse,” the complaint states. “UMG did not do this because it believes these false claims to be true, but rather because it would benefit from damaging Drake’s reputation.”

Drake’s latest complaint comes two months after he claimed UMG and Spotify inflated streams of “Not Like Us.” But it was reported Tuesday evening that he had dropped legal action in the case.

“This trial is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,'” the new lawsuit claims. “Rather, this is entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit and monetize claims that it understood to be not only false, but dangerous. »

Lamar’s “Not Like Us” was one of the biggest hits of 2024. It spent two weeks atop the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart; it spent 20 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart. The song was nominated for five Grammy Awards, including Song and Record of the Year, and has become an international cultural anthem and more than just a song.

Days after the release of Lamar’s song, Drake’s security guard was shot dead outside his Toronto home. “With the palpable physical threat to Drake’s safety and the bombardment of online harassment, Drake fears for the safety of himself, his family, and his friends,” according to the new lawsuit. “After the attacks on his home, Drake withdrew his son from the elementary school he attended in Toronto for safety reasons, and once school ended for the summer, Drake arranged for his son to and his mother leave Toronto completely. Day after day, Drake continues to take steps to address ongoing threats to his security.

Lamar released the West Coast anthem in May after the rappers’ feud resurfaced in March. After going back and forth with diss songs, Lamar dropped “Not Like Us,” calling Drake a pedophile and accusing him of appropriating black culture. The upbeat DJ Mustard-produced track set streaming records and viewers crowned Lamar the winner of the battle. The beef arose in 2013 when Lamar — who previously collaborated with Drake and opened for him on tour — took jabs at 11 of his contemporaries through his guest verse on Big Sean’s “Control.”