Drake has filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG), accusing the music giant of defaming him by promoting Kendrick Lamar’s diss song “Not Like Us,” claiming the label promoted “False and malicious narrative,” calling the star rapper a pedophile and putting his life in danger.
Hours after his attorneys withdrew an earlier petition, they filed a sweeping defamation lawsuit against his longtime brand on Wednesday, claiming UMG knew Lamar’s “inflammatory and shocking accusations” were false but chose Put “corporate greed ahead of people’s safety and well-being.”
“UMG intentionally sought to transform Drake into a pariah, a target of harassment, or worse,” the star’s attorneys wrote in a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court. “UMG did this not because it believed these false claims to be true, but because it could profit from damaging Drake’s reputation.”
In one of the most graphic accusations in the lawsuit, Drake claims that the release of “Not Like Us” put him at risk of physical violence, including a drive-by incident at his Toronto-area home just days after the song was released. shooting.
“UMG’s greed has real-world consequences,” his attorneys wrote. “With clear physical threats to his safety coupled with a bombardment of online harassment, Drake fears for his safety, that of his family and friends.”
It’s worth noting that the case isn’t against Lamar himself — something Drake’s attorneys emphasize repeatedly in their filings.
“UMG may view this complaint as legitimizing a rap beef, but this lawsuit is not a war of words between artists,” Drake’s attorney said.
A spokesman for Universal Music Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wednesday’s lawsuit is another dramatic escalation in a high-profile feud in which Drake and Lamar traded insults last year over songs that culminated with Lamar’s swansong “Not Like Us” — a song that lashed out at Del Rey Gram was an “acknowledged pedophile” and became a hit song.
Drake shocked the music industry in November by filing a petition suggesting he might sue over the matter, accusing UMG and Spotify of an illegal “scheme” involving bots, payola and other methods to promote Lamar’s song and then claimed the song was defamatory. But the cases were not fully fledged lawsuits, and Drake withdrew one of them late Tuesday.
Now it’s clear why: In Wednesday’s lawsuit, he formally sued Universal Music Group over the same alleged scheme, claiming the label “used every weapon in its arsenal” to boost the popularity of Lamar’s songs even though it knew The lyrics “are not only false, but dangerous.”
“With his own record label launching a campaign against him and refusing to treat the matter as a business matter, Drake has no choice but to seek legal compensation from Universal Music Group,” his attorneys wrote.
The filing of the case deepens an ongoing rift between Drake and UMG, where the star has spent his entire career – first signing a deal with Lil Wayne’s Young Money label, The record was released by Republic Records and they were signed directly to the label.
This is a breaking news report and we will continue to update as more details become available.
