DRAKE’S LEGAL TANGO WITH UMG HITS ROUND TWO

Drake is back in the courtroom, sharpening his legal swords against Universal Music Group (UMG) with a fresh petition. This time, he is taking aim at Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us,” claiming it crosses the line from rap feuds into defamation territory. According to documents obtained by Billboard, Drake accuses the track of falsely painting him as a sex offender, alleging it damages his reputation with claims of pedophilic acts, harboring offenders, and other criminal sexual behavior. 

The filing, lodged in Bexar County, Texas, doesn’t just stop at the bars—Drake is also gunning for UMG, accusing them of orchestrating a pay-to-play scheme involving iHeartRadio.

This petition is the second chapter in Drake’s unfolding legal saga with UMG. Earlier, Drake filed a pre-action submission in New York, accusing the music giant and Spotify of conspiring to inflate “Not Like Us” streams using bots and secret payments, ensuring the track flooded listeners’ playlists through algorithmic bias. 

For now, neither petition has graduated to a lawsuit but serves as a shot across the bow, demanding information that could solidify future legal claims.

UMG isn’t taking the hits lightly. In response to Drake’s initial claims, a spokesperson dismissed them as “contrived and absurd,” adding:

 “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.”

Meanwhile, “Not Like Us” is making big waves, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and cementing Kendrick’s dominance with multiple Grammy nominations in its wake. The diss track also sets the tone for Lamar’s latest album, GNX, where the Compton rapper continues to throw lyrical daggers at Drake.

Interestingly, neither artist is signed directly to UMG. Drake operates under OVO, with his releases licensed to UMG’s Republic for marketing and distribution. Kendrick, on the other hand, works through pgLang, licensing his music to UMG’s Interscope. Yet, the drama has dragged both megastars into the same corporate battlefield, as their bar-for-bar clashes spill over into legal warfare.

For now, the beef transcends verses, adding new dimensions to the decades-old tradition of rap rivalries. Fans may be vibing to the diss tracks, but behind the scenes, it’s lawyers, not lyricists, penning the latest shots.