Canadian rapper and actor Drake is taking his own record label to task, filing a lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) for defamation over the track “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar.
“On May 4, 2024, UMG approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track that falsely accuses Drake of being a pedophile and calls for violent retribution against him,” reads the complaint.
The 81-page suit details instances in which Drake’s life was allegedly put at risk as a result of the track, including a May 2024 incident in which a group of armed assailants opened fire on his Toronto residence, striking a security guard in the process.
“Even though UMG enriched itself and its shareholders by exploiting Drake’s music for years, and knew that the salacious allegations against Drake were false, UMG chose corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists,” the suit says.
Drake says he has since been subjected to public hate and online harassment and that his reputation has been harmed by the track.
Lamar, however, is not named in the suit, and Drake is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
“The lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,’” the complaint 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.”
In response, a spokesperson for UMG denied the defamation claims and said it would continue to defend its artists and reputation from “frivolous” litigation targets.
“Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist—let alone Drake—is illogical,” the company said.
“We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success.”
The company said Drake is weaponizing the legal process to “silence creative expression” among other artists and is blaming UMG for putting that music out.
“Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings about other artists,” UMG alleged.
In November 2024, Drake initially filed a legal petition against UMG, Spotify, and iHeartMedia, alleging the entities conspired to artificially boost the song, before withdrawing the petition this week.
Lamar’s “Not Like Us” became a breakout hit last year in a rap battle between the two artists that goes as far back as 2013 and has escalated over the years.
The track is nominated for five Grammy awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
The Epoch Times has reached out to representatives for Drake and Universal Music Group for comment.
