Drake has ramped up his feud with Kendrick Lamar by launching a defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) over Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us.” Filed in New York’s federal court, the suit claims that UMG published and promoted the song despite its false allegations of pedophilia against Drake, warning that it incited listeners to seek vigilante justice. Lamar is not a defendant in the lawsuit.
Drake’s legal team argues that the defamatory content led to serious consequences, including threats to his safety at his Toronto residence, hate online, and damage to his reputation, especially before contract negotiations with UMG. The lawsuit accuses UMG of knowingly exploiting and monetising these dangerous falsehoods, asserting that the track’s inflammatory nature was deemed profitable by the company.
The suit also claims UMG manipulated streaming metrics to inflate “Not Like Us”‘s popularity while preparing for its performance at the Super Bowl. UMG has strongly denied the allegations, asserting that they do not aim to harm any artist’s reputation. The ongoing feud, which has intensified since Lamar’s initial provocations in 2013, underlines the tensions between these two influential figures in hip-hop.