Drake Files Federal Defamation Lawsuit Against UMG Over “Not Like Us”

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After Kendrick Lamar released “Not Like Us”, a diss track directed at Canadian rapper Drake on May 4, Drake responded by filing a defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG), which represents both musicians. The suit was filed eight months after the song’s release and alleged that the song contained false information about Drake.

The lawsuit was filed in a New York federal court in January, after Drake withdrew a legal challenge he made against UMG and Spotify, stating that they were purposely exaggerating and falsely inflating the popularity of Lamar’s track. The filing accused record label UMG, and Spotify, of “manipulating and saturating the streaming services and airwaves.”  Lawyers for Drake alleged that UMG paid influencers and radio stations to play “Not Like Us,” which skyrocketed on the US charts, and was a huge hit for Lamar. 

Drake’s most recent lawsuit accuses UMG of defamation and harassment. “Not Like Us” includes lyrics that accuse Drake of inappropriate relationships with minors, labeling him a “certified pedophile.” Drake’s lawsuit claimed that UMG, his record label, defamed him by promoting and distributing “Not Like Us”, which he claims contains false and damaging statements about his character. The legal action highlights the continuing tensions between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. The lawsuit claimed that UMG “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.”

Even though the suit mostly relates to Lamar’s track, UMG is receiving the blame for distributing, marketing, and exaggerating the success of the track. “This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,’” the filing says. “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.”

After the suit was filed mid-January, UMG issued a hard-hitting response. “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,” a company spokesperson wrote in a statement to Variety. “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. He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.”

Drake’s filing from November claimed that UMG used bots to stream "Not Like Us" on Spotify in mass groups, “and deceive listeners into believing the song was more popular than it was in reality.” UMG was also accused of paying Apple to program Siri to purposely misdirect users to “Not Like Us.”

UMG, which called the allegations “contrived and absurd” said, “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue.” Spotify also denied the allegations, adding that it saw no incentive to increase streams of “Not Like Us,” over other music by Drake.

“Not Like Us,” racked up so many streams that it had the highest single-day and week-long streams of any rap song on Spotify.

Drake has released some music since the feud: four tracks in August, plus two appearances on Camila Cabello’s album and another with Mexican-American group Fuerza Regida. He returned to releasing some new music earlier in January and mid-February, including releasing an album with PARTYNEXTDOOR on Feb. 14.