Drake sues his label UMG, saying “Not Like Us” is defamatory

Drake's ongoing legal battle with his label, Universal Music Group, has escalated. The artist filed a lawsuit in federal court today, accusing Universal Music Group of damaging his reputation and jeopardizing his interests. The lawsuit stems from another UMG artist Kendrick Lamar's diss song "Not Like Us." Drake's legal action also again accuses UMG of using bots and payola to make songs more popular on Spotify and other streaming platforms.

"On May 4, 2024, UMG approved, published and launched a campaign to create a viral hit from a rap song that falsely accused Drake of being a pedophile," the complaint reads. "Despite having enriched itself and its shareholders for years by exploiting Drake's music, and knowing that the obscenity accusations against Drake were false, Universal Music Group chose the corporate side. Greed rather than the safety and well-being of its artists.”

Drake has accused Universal Music Group (UMG) of using bots to boost listeners and views and paying for promotion on social media.

Image: Aubrey Drake Graham recording with UMG

The lawsuit details a shooting at the home of Drake (real name: Aubrey Graham) just days after the song was released, in which a security guard was injured. Multiple break-ins occurred over the next few days, which the lawsuit alleges were the result of Universal Music Group's actions.

UMG's actions are driven at least in part by UMG's desire to be in the best position to negotiate with Kendrick Lamar in 2024 and Drake in 2025. In Lamar's case, based on information and belief, UMG was motivated to prove that it could maximize Lamar's sales -- by any means necessary -- after being able to get him to a short-term exclusive contract only. UMG hopes Lamar sees value quickly enough to convince Lamar to resign entirely over a longer period of time. As for Drake, his contract is about to be fulfilled in 2024. It is understood and believed that UMG anticipated that extending Drake's contract would be costly to UMG; therefore, it was incentivized to disparage Drake's music and brand in order to gain leverage in extension negotiations

Lamar was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit; instead, Drake's legal team placed the blame on Universal Music Group for releasing the song, even though they knew the song's "allegations were unquestionably false."

"Drake is not a pedophile. Drake has never engaged in any behavior that would warrant being placed on neighborhood watch. Drake has never had sex with a minor. Drake has never been charged or convicted Committing any criminal act,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit follows a petition filed by Drake in November accusing UMG and Spotify of using pay and streaming bots to artificially inflate the success of "Not Like Us." The petition, not a lawsuit per se but a precursor, was withdrawn this week. But the lawsuit filed today includes similar allegations of a "pay-to-play" scheme to get "Not Like Us" played on radio stations and promoted on streaming platforms. The lawsuit also again accuses Universal Music Group of using bots to "artificially amplify the distribution of songs." It cited a "whistleblower" who claimed he paid Zelle $2,500 through a third party to use "bots" to achieve 30,000,000 streams on Spotify within the first few days of the record's release.

as new york times noted that Drake hired Michael J. Gottlieb, an attorney who represents restaurant owners involved in the "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory. Drake's complaint compared the shooting at the artist's home to the restaurant shooting, calling it "the 'Pizzagate' of 2024."

"The response online has been equally violent and hateful. An outpouring of hate speech online has labeled Drake a sex offender and a pedophile, among other epithets," the complaint reads.