Drake files federal lawsuit accusing UMG of defamation over promotion of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’

Drake is transferring ahead together with his authorized battle towards his personal report label, submitting a federal lawsuit towards Common Music Group alleging it defamed him by spreading a “false and malicious narrative” when it promoted Kendrick Lamar’s diss monitor “Not Like Us.”

Drake, the Canadian rapper whose actual title is Aubrey Drake Graham, filed the 81-page lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Courtroom for the Southern District of New York.

Each Drake and Lamar are signed to UMG however beneath totally different divisions — Drake beneath Republic Information and Lamar beneath Interscope.

The lawsuit repeats among the claims Drake made towards UMG in a petition filed in November, when he accused it of conspiring to “artificially inflate” Lamar’s “Not Like Us” on Spotify by utilizing pay-to-play schemes, bots and different ways.

Lamar launched the tune over the summer time amid a monthslong feud with Drake.

“UMG’s marketing campaign went properly past the standard music firm playbook — certainly, UMG has unleashed each weapon in its arsenal, together with, on info and perception, sure practices which can be illegal,” Wednesday’s lawsuit says.

It alleges that UMG provided “monetary incentives” to 3rd events to stream the tune and put it on the market with out disclosing the funds to the general public. The label additionally eliminated copyright restrictions, which allowed content material creators to play the tune of their movies, in keeping with the lawsuit.

It additional alleges that UMG used “bots” to play the tune and enhance its recognition.

A spokesperson for UMG mentioned that the allegations are “unfaithful” and that Drake’s claims that it might attempt to harm his repute are “illogical.”

“We’ve got invested massively in his music and our staff world wide have labored tirelessly for a few years to assist him obtain historic business and private monetary success,” the assertion learn.

(UMG, a Dutch American-owned firm, has no relation to NBCUniversal, the mum or dad firm of NBC Information.)

The go well with says the false allegations within the tune and UMG’s determination to put it on the market led to “actual world penalties” for Drake. On Might 7, an armed group drove to Drake’s Toronto dwelling, and a minimum of one gunman opened hearth, wounding a safety guard, the go well with alleges.

The subsequent day, a special intruder used his naked palms to dig a gap beneath the house’s safety fence, it alleges. Guards on the property caught the trespasser, the go well with says. One other break-in try occurred on the dwelling on Might 9, in keeping with the lawsuit.

“Within the twenty years main as much as Might of 2024, though Drake was continually within the public eye, nothing remotely like these occasions had ever occurred to him or his household. However these occasions weren’t coincidental,” the go well with says. “They instantly adopted, and have been proximately brought on by, UMG’s actions main as much as and on Might 4, 2024.”

Drake tried to resolve issues with UMG privately, the go well with says, however it “refused to do something to assist” and mentioned he would “face humiliation” if he sought authorized motion.

The go well with says UMG promoted the tune as a result of the label knew that the extra it was streamed and performed, the more cash UMG and its executives would make. The corporate additionally knew that Drake’s contract was nearing the top and that extending it might be expensive, the go well with says.

“By devaluing Drake’s music and model, UMG would achieve leverage to drive Drake to signal a brand new deal on phrases extra favorable to UMG,” it says.

UMG’s spokesperson mentioned in its assertion that Drake has “deliberately and efficiently” used the label to “distribute his music and poetry to have interaction in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to precise his emotions about different artists.”

The label accused Drake of weaponizing “the authorized course of to silence an artist’s artistic expression and to hunt damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.”

“We’ve got not and don’t interact in defamation—towards any particular person,” UMG’s spokesperson mentioned. “On the similar time, we’ll vigorously defend this litigation to guard our individuals and our repute, in addition to any artist who may straight or not directly grow to be a frivolous litigation goal for having performed nothing extra that write a tune.”

Based on the lawsuit, Drake fears for the security of himself and his household and needed to pull his son out of his elementary college due to security issues. He has additionally suffered monetary hurt, the go well with says.

Drake makes it clear within the lawsuit that he’s not going after Lamar. His authorized staff at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP mentioned the go well with is meant “to carry UMG accountable for knowingly selling false and defamatory allegations towards him.”

“Starting on Might 4, 2024 and day by day since, UMG has used its large sources because the world’s strongest music firm to raise a harmful and inflammatory message that was designed to assassinate Drake’s character, and led to precise violence at Drake’s doorstep,” his attorneys mentioned.

“UMG desires the general public to imagine that this can be a battle between rappers, however this lawsuit shouldn’t be introduced towards Kendrick Lamar,” they mentioned. “This lawsuit reveals the human and enterprise penalties to UMG’s elevation of income over the security and well-being of its artists, and shines a lightweight on the manipulation of artists and the general public for company achieve.”