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https://variety.com/2025/music/news/drake-sues-universal-defamation-kendrick-lamar-not-like-us-1236274967/
Drake Doubles Down: Rapper Sues His Label, Universal Music, for Defamation Over Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Diss Track
Although Drake withdrew his legal petition against his label, Universal Music Group, on Tuesday, he doubled down Wednesday, suing the company for defamation and harassment, spreading the “false and malicious narrative” that he is a pedophile via Kendrick Lamar’s brutal diss track, “Not Like Us,” according to the lawsuit, which was viewed by Variety.
In the documents, Drake claims that UMG knew that Lamar’s lyrics and images in the song’s music video, were false and dangerous, and that it “chose corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists. In controversy,” it continues, “UMG saw an opportunity, seized it, and continued to fan the flames.”
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, claims that Universal “approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track” 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.”
“Not Like Us” was one of the biggest hits of 2024, topping Luminate’s U.S. chart for on-demand audio and video streams for the year. It is nominated for five Grammy Awards, and Lamar is the headline performer for the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime show.
Although Lamar’s lyrics are at the heart of the lawsuit, it clearly places the blame on Universal for releasing, distributing and promoting the song: “This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,’” it suit reads. “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.” However, Drake seems to have backed down on claims that UMG and Spotify conspired to falsely boost the song’s streaming numbers; those allegations were strenuously denied by both companies. Ironically, Universal distributes both Lamar’s and Drake’s music — both artists own their recent master recordings via their companies — and has for the majority of both artists’ careers. The suit claims that because Drake’s current deal with UMG is nearing the end of its term, the company is attempting to devalue his music and profile in an effort to gain more-favorable terms in a renegotiation.
The lawsuit also states that the cover artwork for the “Not Like Us” single is based around a photo of Drake’s Toronto home dotted with markers that traditionally note the presence of registered sex offenders. In fact, it leads with a recounting of a shooting incident at the residence, which took place just days after the song’s release, in which a security guard was injured. The incident, which was followed by two other attempted trespassers in the following days, resulted in a temporary cooling-down period in the feud between the two rappers, which had been vicious in the preceding weeks, although Lamar references it in lyrics on his November album “GNX.”
A few days after that album’s release, Drake filed his first legal action against Universal and Spotify, the world’s largest streaming service. In a subsequent action, it roped in iHeartMedia, the largest radio network in the U.S. The UMG-Spotify action was withdrawn Tuesday; a hearing in the iHeart action is scheduled for later this month.
The suit claims that “Many months prior to filing this litigation, Drake attempted to address these claims privately with UMG. Drake believed, per Grainge, that UMG’s leadership should be held ‘accountable for the decisions we make and how we conduct ourselves.’ … Yet, in response to Drake’s concerns, UMG responded that Drake would face humiliation if he brought legal action — presuming that the public would be unable to understand UMG’s role in exploiting and profiting from this dispute. UMG’s posture, as the ‘world’s largest music company,’ was that it is untouchable.”
A rep for Universal did not immediately respond on Wednesday to Variety‘s request for comment on the lawsuit, although the company denounced Drake’s accusations in an earlier comment on the November legal action: “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” read the statement. “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.”
The suit states that “Drake has never engaged in sexual relations with a minor. Drake has never been charged with, or convicted of, any criminal acts whatsoever.”
The suit was brought Drake’s behalf by Michael J. Gottlieb, partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Gottlieb represented the owner of the Washington pizzeria targeted by the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theorists and the election workers who were falsely accused by Rudolph W. Giuliani of assisting in a false plot to steal the 2020 presidential election.
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