Just when we thought the sting of Drake and Kendrick Lamar‘s rap beef was subsiding, more drama between the two megastars has insued— this time, with Universal Music Group (UMG) being caught in the crossfire.
Drake, a stage name for Aubrey Graham, has launched not one, but two legal actions against UMG, accusing his parent label of defamation after they green lit the release of Kendrick Lamar’s hit single, “Not Like Us.”
The song, which has hit 900 million streams on Spotify, includes lyrics insinuating that Drake is a pedophile and a sex offender; a song that Drake claims UMG could have gotten ripped off of shelves to never see the light of day again.
“Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young
– Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us”
You better not ever go to cell block one
To any b***h that talk to him and they in love
Just make sure you hide your lil’ sister from him”
The first legal petition, filed in New York late Monday, Nov. 25, accused UMG of illegally, “boosting,” the diss track on Spotify via, “pay-to-play,” and, “funneled payments.” The following day, Drake’s camp filed a similar legal action in Texas against radio company iHeart Radio, claiming the radio giant took illegal routes to ensure the diss song received heavy radio spins.
“According to one inside source known to Petitioner [Drake], UMG made covert payments to a number of platforms, including radio stations, to play and promote ‘Not Like Us’ without disclosing those payments to listeners,” said the petition. Drake’s lawyers suggest that this alleged behavior is, “known as payola,” which they add, “is prohibited by the Communications Act of 1934.”
In the 14-page long petition, Drake claims that UMG knowingly released the song that, “falsely,” accused him of being a, “certified pedophile,” and took no action to have the allegations edited or removed.
“UMG designed, financed and then executed a plan to turn ‘Not Like Us’ into a viral mega-hit with the intent of using the spectacle to harm Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues. That plan succeeded, likely beyond UMG’s wildest expectations,” wrote Drakes lawyers.
Drake isn’t suing anyone… yet
Both petitions are not lawsuits; they are pre-action filings, initiating the intake of depositions from executives at iHeart Radio and UMG, depositions that could possible entail information which will aid Drake in a future lawsuit against the giant companies, if deemed necessary. If the depositions hold strong evidence that backs up Drake’s claims, the hip-hop star’s lawyers have mentioned the possibility of attaching racketeering and civil fraud claims to a viable lawsuit.
Drake’s lawyers appear to be pretty confident with pursing a lawsuit, claiming they have enough evidence to pursue a, “claim for defamation,” against UMG.
In a statement to USA TODAY, Universal Music Group responded to Drake’s filings, stating, “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.”
Like Drake, Lamar too has been associated with UMG his entire career, while simultaneously being signed to Interscope with a licensing deal. UMG is also accused in the petition, of intentionally and illegally prioritizing one artist over the next.
“UMG knew that the song itself, as well as its accompanying album art, and music video, attacked the character of another one of UMG’s most prominent artists, Drake, by falsely accusing him of being a sex offender, engaging in pedophilic acts, harboring sex offenders and committing other criminal sexual acts,” says the petition.
Lamar is not named as a respondent in the filing.
Whew, this situation is more sticky than we thought. Rap beef used to be kept in the streets, but it seems as though the courtroom is just as good of a battle field as anywhere else.
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